It was too wet to do much on the truck today. i didn't want any water in the new engine, and even with a tent it was unsatisfactorily wet out there.
Tomorrow I'll try to get an early start and get as much done as possible.

Today I tried cleaning out the oil pan and valve cover. The pan still needs some work. Ick.

i stopped at the parts store and got the rest of the new parts I'll need (hope that's all anyway). Most of these were required by the engine builder to be replaced in order to keep the warranty. Some were just bad or in poor condition.
I got quality name brand parts where I could. "Duralast" is autozone's housebrand, and I've found it usually of equal or superior quality to "carquest" and "napa" house brand in most instances. A lot of duralast parts look like they're actually ACDELCO parts reboxed.