bugpack windage pushrod tubes and the pushrod seals from hell

I'm not sure what I did wrong this time; I've rebuilt motors before
using standard pushrods with no difficulty. This was my first time
using these heavy-duty "windage" pushrod tubes. Every time I start to
torque down the heads, one or more of the seals would get squished out
into the head. I had each head pulled off at least three times to yank
the tubes out, tweak them, bend them, compress them, twist them, yell
at them, ... Eventually I managed to get them to work, but I wouldn't
be surprised if by morning one of them won't have its seal squished
back out into the head... I've verified deck height, pushrod geometry,
length, etc and nothing is out of spec. Are heavy duty tubes just a
pain to deal with? or was I doing something wrong?