Ticking in the valve train

Sorry to say it, but by running and then shutting off the car without breaking in the cam for 20 minutes at various speeds above 2500rpm, you are almost guaranteeing a flat cam lobe. All your cam break-in lube is gone after the first few cranks, so it's up to your oil to keep things lubed while the lifters and the lobes mate together in their spinning pattern. The first 20 minutes or so are critical to cam and liter life.

Your valve train doesn't match your heads, your rocker arms are hitting the valve springs. If your new heads have pushrod guide plates and you are running non-hardened pushrods, you will have more problems.

Did you check for spring and rocker interference prior to starting the motor, and consider addressing that? Did you check any of your valve train related geometry and/or opt for some correct length pushrods?