Hopefully the ticking you hear is just the lifters. Still do the compression check though and let us know how it comes out.
I'm never heard of "boring the head." Are you talking about a valve job and upgraded valves? Over sized valves? What exactly does this entail?
If you do have to pull the head, you might as well get it ported. Better flow is better flow. Take it off once, get it done, and never worry about having to do it again, or have that funny feeling in the back of your head; "I wonder if I should have ported the head?"
If your going with BC cams, I can't think of a reason not to go with BC springs. Any spring and retainer compination of equal quality shoud suit you just fine.
When my time comes I might consider these;
FFWD Connection - Race Injuns That Will Freeze Your Brain
