I just wanted to confirm that I'm not crazy.

I've never done anything with heads or head gaskets before, but I've got my intake manifold off because I thought there was a leaking intake manifold gasket and then I look back to the back of the head where it meets up with the intake manifold and see this...

Something tells me the shop that replaced the heads didn't do something right or maybe tried to make the wrong part fit... I don't know, but either way I just want some confirmation on whether this is supposed to be like this or not. I'm assuming no.

Pictures are here: head gasket - Imgur

 

The stud IS normal for the intake on a 2.8..........no worries.
And I have seen plenty of excess hanging off of even the Fel-pro head gasket set, just trim it.

 

The problem was that the mechanic installed the wrong side on upside down. I guess they had two passenger's sides and they decided to force it to work. Problem is the gasked doesn't go all the way to the back (as you can see in the pic, I'm putting a clamp in where a gasket should be.

 

OK now I see it.
AFAIK both sides are interchangeable, but not up and down. Some one REALLY wasn't paying attention.
Looks like you are going to be doing a head gasket.

 

I am indeed... taking care of it tomorrow.

Worst part is the P.O. PAID A MECHANIC to screw his truck up like this! How careless do you have to be?

 

And it looks like the pushrod is rubbing on the gasket there as well.

There are plenty of people working in shops as "professional" mechanics who simply have very little idea what they're doing. I did a head gasket job for a woman recently who had her head gaskets replaced (twice already) by a shop in Sacramento with a good reputation, and some of the things I found in that engine were astounding to me. I thought I was looking at the work done by a high school kid with no experience attempting his first major job, not the work of a paid professional.