Thanks. Figured the base gasket would be toast. And yeah, those kindergarten gaskets are laughable. Better to use aTo pull just the head and cylinder involves four gaskets, head, intake, exhaust & base - of these there's only one that will definitely need replacement & that's the base gasket as it rarely remains intact during disassembly, even with a new, never-run motor.
If/when you purchase any new gaskets or have intact ones removed from the engine - I strongly recommend using them to carefully make trace templates, this will allow you to make your own, far higher quality gaskets using materials commonly found at any decent auto parts store, for the same price or less
Paper plate,lol. But again, we must remember the price...