Thanks Geordi.
It's a bit hard for me to measure dwell time/rotation (I was just turning the cam sprocket by hand), but I suppose I could go back and do it with a ratchet and note the angles. What I felt was high resistance as I was pushing the valves down (or I assume that is what was going on since I have no way to actually see that happen), and then after some point the cam would snap a bit more forward (again assuming that was the valves pushing the lobes around). This happens 4 times in a full rotation. For this one position on the exhaust, it took less hand force to push the valves down and it snaps forward but not as strongly as the other 3 cyls. I was thinking that it may be that only one of that cyl's valves is being compressed (or that both are but not as far) and that's why the forces are less on that one.
I like the idea that it may just be a lifter or two that has leaked down some on that cyl. I don't believe that I could have knocked a rocker off in my work here (I didn't move the cam any further than it was going on its own). And I don't think that any rockers had broken previously; at least I did not hear anything or feel any big loss of power which I assume would happen when a rocker breaks or isn't working. It's hard to remember sometimes, but originally I was looking for the source of a cam sensor error light, not for possible broken rockers or the like (hard to remember you were going to drain the swamp when you are up to your neck in alligators
).
If there was some way to decide if there is a rocker/lifter issue without pulling the intake, that would be great. Alternatively if I just reassemble and run it, if there are no obviously bad sounds how much risk of doing extensive damage is there? [I know, a bit hard to ask someone else to take a gamble, but I'd just like to get some idea of what is likely here]