Hi redneck, i am a networking it schlub too. I had some jobs in the mechanic biz when i was younger, (machine shop and r&r) I learned the hard way on one of my vehicles that a head gasket job i did failed when i did 2 mistakes. 1. i bought a cheap harbor freight torque wrench, (spend the money on a good one if you plan to have this as a hobby) prob that angle one don mentioned by a good brand. He may recommend one. 2. I didnt chase/clean out the bolt holes with a thread chaser. Blow them out with compressed air. When you are scraping the old gasket off its easy to get stuff in the holes and that does not help your torqueing. Dont know if the marine mech pro's here recommend chasing the threads. I just do it on land motors. Maybe they will chime in. I cant find a good (auto) mech down here in fl. Every time i had something done it went bad in short order. Then when i went back to fix the "pros" job i found bolts missing, and things not connected. I do everything i can myself now. There are most definately great mechs out there. Alot are on here. Good luck, welcome and enjoy your new hobby. Oh yeah i always have the head magnafluxed (for cracks, aluminum is another method)and checked with a straight edge and feeler gauge for trueness before reassembly. Your even supposed to check the block deck surface. I was never a big fan of just pulling it off then putting it back on though alot of folks do it. It costs a little green at the machine shop to have checked but remember this is a marine engine. This might sound dorky but i look at it sort of like going into space. Do you really want to cut corners?
