Was starting to think I was tearing this engine down for nothing. EVERYTHING looked like NEW UNTIL I got to the upper shell of the rod bearing. It was starting to flake and get pitted. The lower half showed some wear BUT nothing notable. Again decided not to push it Maybe I will pull the flywheel and pull the crankshaft out and inspect it for wear. From what I can see looking down the bore it looks fine. BUT it does look like my sense that something was wrong probably saved the engine from major damage.
P.S. The flywheel has been on there since 2014 when the engine left VC who assembled it. 8 years of sand and salt water on it. Stay tuned.