Tested before the strip down but the engine bound up when you turned it after fitting the cam?
It could still be a bent valve(s). I know it's a complete ball ache, but you could remove the intake manifold and fill each intake port with petrol at TDC, one at a time, and see if it drips through. I don't know what petrol's evaporation rate is in open air (which could give a false result if it evaporates quickly) but I can't think of another chemical that wouldn't cause damage if it does drip through into the cylinders? Even the fluid level doesn't change after an hour or so, you can assume the valves are gas tight.
The only other things I can think of for the noises and rough running are still timing that's off, or maybe swarf from the failed cam/follower has clogged up the VVT adjuster or oil ways to the cams. Do you have VCDS? You can monitor the VVT's position with the engine running using that, which would outrule that issue.