Only 1 Clean Valve on head?

Just checked, cam lobe is fine, looks and feels same as the others.

Can't imagine this to be too mysterious. but very strange. Closer pic if it helps in any way.
I've ordered a spring compressor so this weekend will take it out to see if it has an issue or not but seems as tight in as the others.

Great post AeroCoupe. I've checked the gaskets, intake and head, no signs of water leaks but makes sense. Piston seem normal like the others though. And any reason ya'll know of of why just the exhaust port is clean? Again once i get the tool this weekend i'll pull the valve to see if anything is wrong with it.

Oil does not smell like gas and its carbureted, so no injectors. Think I'll hold off on getting the oil analysis at this point. Was hoping this was more of a common issue with known answer, apparently not. Again, the reason I pulled the head in the first place was due to a ticking sound I could not pin down. I did have an issue a year ago with something like a brass / copper thing like a small washer end up in hole #8 which put a minor dent in the piston, removed head to find / remove it. The ticking started after that but would come and go. Assumed I'd find something else there but all seems normal. The clean valve is over hole #7. To clarify, the ticking went along with the RPM, so like 1 rocker ticking or 1 bad lifter. Readjusted rockers like crazy to no avail. So now pulling head and checking lifters. Not that I could tell which side of the engine it was coming from, just assumed the drivers side since thats where the metal was found in the cylinder 8.

No, of the several I checked, and I've never done so before so not sure what to expect, but I could not compress the lifter with my fingers. Any of them. Again less then 500 miles on this motor so all looks very new with the lifters and rockers.