Stopping the knock: Lower compression and ported heads...

Today I finally checked the cranking compression.
Before with the Fel Pro .039 head gaskets and nearly 11.0 to 1 compression I was at an average of 191. Now with the 10.07 to 1 ratio my average went down to around 160 !
I checked every hole twice. I had the battery charger on the battery to maintain an even charge. I was amazed that the cranking numbers dropped off so much compared to before.
I decided to start playing with the lash to see what effect it had on the cranking psi. Wow, what an eye opener! The Hot Lash specs are .020 IN and .022 EX. I normally set them .006 tighter (.014 & .016) when cold to account for the expansion of the aluminum heads. This time I set them cold to .022 IN and .024 EX. That is .008 wider spec. This raised the cranking compression to an average of 170.
I haven't driven the car yet. I figure I'd see how it feels after the lash adjustment. If it feels more responsive down low I might leave it as is as long as it isn't knocking.
I was really surprised to see what an effect the lash really had on the cranking compression