Just to sum it up, I have replaced pushrods and rocker arms with crane cams rocker arm and pushrod set (1.8 ratio). replaced valve springs and lifters, and the noise is still there. I was just hoping someone would have some more suggestions on what to try. The noise is on the driver side under the valve cover. We narrowed it down to either the #1 or #3 cylinder. That is where the noise sounds like it is coming from anyway. I've already put 2 grand into the motor and i don't want to put any more in it. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Depending on your cam size and specs my guess would be the 1.8 rocker arms smacking the valve cover. Did you remove the oil baffels? Take the cover off and look for any marks they might have left. I had comp 1.75 rockers smack the covers even after removing the bafflels. It drove me nuts trying to track down the noise. Best of luck, hope it's nothing serious.