S U C C E S S ! ! !

I was able to get all of my slack back, sp here's how I did it and some tricks I learned along the way that may help others; First - remove the vacuum pump so it doesn't get in the way later like it did for me. Also - the upper guide rail cannot be installed while the cam sprocket is in place (I couldn't do it, no matter how I tried, it would have broken if I pushed it too hard).

1) I removed the CAM (by removing cam cap's 1, 5 & 6 first, then 2, 3, 4 & 7 slowly together). This placed all of the valves in the closed position.

2) I had my helper hold the timing chain up and out of the way while I rotated the crank a full 360 degrees, stopping on the 0 degree mark when I got there. This got rid of all the slack.

3) I reattached the cam by tightening together 2, 3, 4 & 7 slowly together then attaching 1, 5 & 6 together). I torque’d to 25 foot pounds (couldn't find the spec exactly, but this felt good) - please someone let me know if I was wrong with that value.

4) I made sure to align the hash marks on the cam and first cam tower mark - so it's in sync.

5) Installed the upper guide rail BEFORE I tried to get the sprocket back on. There is a trick here - first I slid the guide rail in (there is a right way and a wrong way, the thinner end goes down) - I used a flashlight and a nail to quickly align the guide rail holes with the pin hole in the front of the head. Once I had it basically in place, I dipped the rail pin in some motor oil and pressed it into place (I threaded in a bolt and tapped on it with the side of my hammer). Once fully seated I knew the rail was secure. The upper pin was a piece of cake and did not need the nail trick.

6) Last thing, I slipped the cam sprocket into place, slowly moving the sprocket one tooth at a time untill it was perfectly aligned with it's indexing pin on the cam. Everything fit like butter

Now that this is all together - I can begin closing this engine back up! All of the rest of these parts really just bolt on - the hardest thing left to do is bolting the EGR assembly back on the side of the head (and maybe the lower exhaust pipe bolts will be a drag too). I am so relieved. I have a table full of new parts to go onto this engine. Thank you all for your advice and for the answered prayer's.