I would add one comment to your excellent procedure (which pointed out some things that I've never noticed, by the way). If you look at an old Ford service manual you will see that they have an alignment tool to install the front cover. It is basically a sleeve that fits over the crank, and the outside diameter fits into the seal bore on the front cover. Using this tool you achieve perfect alignment of the cover opening to the crank. Without it, you can have a misalignment, because the bolts holding the cover on will allow the cover to move around somewhat. If you don't get it perfectly aligned, some parts of the seal will be compressed against the crank more than others, and the parts of the seal with less compression against the crank can weep oil. Using the tool, you bolt on the front cover before putting the crank sleeve in place.
I made one of these tools quite a few years ago on my lathe, and use it for every FE timing cover. This tool has eliminated front seal leaks on my engines.