rocker shafts installed backwards... long read. but pics!

Did you check to see if the lifters are the AMC type? The kind of lifter that would oil through the pushrod?
He'd need pushrods made for oiling too, and I'm pretty sure you'd need modified rockers for that to work too else you'd only be oiling the top of the pushrod against the cup in the rocker. The concern about the oil holes in the shafts is about oil between the rocker and the shaft.