The ring compressor compressed the rings easily, and the piston went in without any problems. The engine is reassembled and should be installed tomorrow.
The only mistake I made (as far as I know!), was to leave the crank bearing in the block at the machine shop. It came back packed with grit - No surprise. But after flushing/washing/flushing/drying/lubing the block/bearing, I noticed some play in the bearing that I don't think was there earlier! So I installed a new crank bearing.
I intend to try to break-in the engine as described in this thread:
http://www.onlycubcadets./forum/show...k-in+procedure
I'll let you know how it goes!