cool story bro

 

Nominal compression is 185psi. Problem is in the gasket. Block will have to be decked if the sealing surface is uneven.

 

Should I remove head and use a straight edge on both? or is that not accurate enough? I shouldn't have skipped that step anyways.

I should also mention I have been using very poor compression testers, the one I borrowed from autozone is completely bust.

 

Well if you're blowing white I would think there is definitely a sealing issue with the gasket. The only way you'd be sure to get a good seal is take the block and head to a shop for resurfacing. Oh and you should avoid re-using the head gasket you just installed.