Well, 2 weeks ago I was checking fluids as a pre-flight for a trip up to Omaha, and... uh, oh..... oil in the coolant res. No other symptoms!!

So now:
Head is 7 thousandths straighter (pressure test ok)
Intake, valve cover, and thermostat housings are painted black
Intake manifold is gasket-matched to head
Take-off Bosch Design III 19# injectors
Fresh BMW coolant (again!)
New vacuum hoses
New exhaust studs and nuts
Probably 5 pounds lighter due to carbon removal!

Grand total with the injectors was around $425, obviously doing it all myself but the head milling. So not too bad, really. Thanks BMA and FiveOMotorsports!

Things I learned:
The engine compartment looks WAY better with stuff painted
1 little 5'10" guy CAN lift the head off and on unassisted, even with the intake manifold attached, without damaging anything other than maybe my back.
Bleeding M30s is a pain. Well, I already knew that.
You need MORE than 3 gallons of coolant when the system has been totally drained.
The intake manifold casting is WAY off from the head! I mean, that's terrible!
At 181k, this was still the original HG. Things actually looked pretty good, too.

Things I have to do yet:
Idle is pretty bad. Hoping DME adaptation helps, and then I'll do a valve adjustment (guess I don't really trust the machine shop), and then a 3.5 bar FPR.
Timing chain is also original. Guides are kinda worn, too. So, add that to the list... I didn't have time or the inclination to attack that without a serious tool for the crank pulley.

Impressions:
Wow, it's so smooth!! Once your'e off idle, it runs really smooth....it's been a couple of weeks, but I swear it runs way better...must be the injectors and de-carboning. There was TONS of crap in the intake manifold, surprised it ran at all before.

I've been driving my 300E in the interim, and I forgot how much faster and more responsive the BMW is. Steering is really dead, though.

So, another M30 HG bit the dust, but it's back, and better than ever. Just had to share!