Good to hear you're making progress. While I hesitate to disagree with LAB as he is far more knowledgeable than I am, I used high temp rtv sealant sparingly on my pushrod tube seals for extra insurance with a completely dry engine as a result. But then again I use it almost everywhere in addition to gaskets. Just to avoid disappointing oil leaks after hours of work. The real trick is to use the right seals top and bottom and the right seal thicknesses to give an approx. 30 to 40 thou/ 0.75 to 1 mm gap between the head and the head gasket before tightening down. Too much gap and you'll compress the seals out of their seats.