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Damage control.
Ron,
Something is wrong, be it major or minor. Do not run car until you have performed your checks.
Like Tony said, maybe you just whacked the plug while the head was off the motor.
Note to all: remove all plugs, injectors or other things from the head that you may have to before removing it. It is much harder to after the fact. I have a nasty scar from when I was 16 from pulling injectors off a VW diesel head because I was too much in a rush to remove them before pulling the head.
Regardless, you can not assume this as you have noises and a damaged plug.
Pull valve cover, pull all spark plugs, set crank and cam to TDC. Do the marks line up? Let's hope they do, if not timing must be reset, but more importantly, how many degrees/teeth are they off? I think 2 teeth out, and the valves are hitting the crowns of the pistons. Not an m103 expert. Let's assume timing is correct and continue.
Next you should assess if you have FOD (foreign object debris) in the cylinder. This could be a nut, rag, bottle cap, who knows what. A borescope would be ideal right about now. You could insert a fine magnet through the spark plug hole. May get lucky. Back track your steps. How careful were you? What are the chances you let something fall in? We all make mistakes, trace your steps.
If by whatever means you have did not find any FOD, crank the motor over by hand. Listen as you do this. Any strange sounds? Feel for resistance, does something feel choppy or abnormal in the motor?
If all seems good, crank the motor over with the starter, plugs still out. A remote starter switch is ideal about now. That way you only activate the starter, no fuel or ignition, and can stand by the motor and listen. If all sounds good excellent. Also you can move about the engine bay listening to the motor from various vantage points.
All this time you will have the valve cover off. Now you can check to see if you are getting oil pressure to the camshaft, lifters, etc. Ensure nothing falls into the head while the valve cover is off.
Assuming all is well, I would do a compression test for grins. Good to know where things lie. If you can do a leak down test, even better.
If all checks out for the good, bottom it up and give it a fire. Listen carefully. Keep fingers crossed.
OK, now onto possible bigger issues. This is the 3rd head gasket in 153k miles? Something is not right! Warped head, poor installation, improperly milled head are all initial thoughts.
Here come the questions:
When starting the motor after this head R&R did you ever get oil pressure? If so how much?
Why was the head pulled the first time?
Did the car ever overheat?
How long did the last gasket last?
Was the head serviced by the machine shop when it was off the first time? (as it seems it was not this time?)
If so, was it checked for warpage and/or was it milled?
FWIW, if the head was milled too far down interference can happen. Seen it before on a 603. Also have seen a head that was not milled straight. Head gasket blew in less than 10 minutes on that one. That was an m103 also. A good machinist is worth his weight in gold!
Take a deep breath. Clear the mind, and approach this systematically. It may be something insignificant, but best to do your homework to be sure. Best case all is well, worst case the head comes off again.
Lastly, before cranking it over more, when you pull the valve cover, if there is no oil on the cam, followers, etc, you really should put some assembly lube on those bits. Standard procedure during assembly. STP works in a pinch, Motor oil if in an even greater pinch. Something is better than nothing. WD40 will not cut it.
Let's help Ron figure this one out ILUVMILS.
Hatteras, the distributor rotor is driven directly off the cam. It is not like the earlier motors.
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