I agree with the above posters, that the gear was damaged during removal, not installation. The tapered hub would have cracked if the cause was over-torque. The cracks in that gear are definately from improper removal techniques. I've had some gears that were WAY over-torqued, and I was able to get them off.
As far as the hammer-and-punch method goes, these gears are powdered metal formed, not the old steel forgings from the AHU. The AHU gear's steel is much more tolerant of impact shock than the ALH gear- a punch on an over-tightened hub will indeed put a good mark in it. My recommendation for removing the over-torqued gears is to put the puller on it with a C-clamp to hold the jaws tight, put a good amount of force on the puller with the center bolt, THEN give the hub a tap with the punch, and it will usually come off with a huge bang.
As far as your lifter noise is concerned, I'll stay out of the clatter other than to agree with Franko6 that the cam and lifters must be replaced together, due to mutual wearing in of one to the other.
-Rich