If a gasket barrel / spacer fell out of the gasket while disassembling where could it go? Can I drop the oil pan to retrieve it? Found the first one with a magnetic retriever . Thoughts?

 

If you can't find it on the ground or laying up top someplace it's probably in the cam valley, from there it can end up in the oil pan. If you drop the pan check the pick-up screen while you have the opportunity.

 

I dropped the oil pan and cleaned the bottom of it still no sign of the valve cover barrel/spacer. Anyone out there have any ideas ?

 

Check the recesses in the head.

 

^^^ this. run your little mechanic magnet through the tops of the cyl heads. unless you had the intake plenum uncovered and it found its way into that & down into the intake chamber as you lifted the gasket up and over it, then it can only be in the cyl-head or on the ground/work bench/frame rail something like that. But you are correct in trying to account for all of the pieces, that's for sure. good luck and roll out all magnets available! I had to fashion 1 of those tiny magnet from a collapsible stick made for mechanics/auto repair --onto some wire so that I could fish down into those intake runners; I have used it for that purpose on more than 1 occasion so you really gotta keep that intake covered.