Another .02 here
I'd love to see the dyno sheet on THAT motor!
I'm not keen on a shorter rod ratio. Thicker base gasket vs. short rods, personally I'd go with the gasket change. I've run .100" base gasket thickness
yeah it put the pistons way down in the hole, and I didn't run out of cam chain with a stock height block.
I'd cc the head myself to verify this high CR, but there are other ways to get REALLY CLOSE before you tear into it.
What is your cranking pressure? a 12:1 motor with a large (late closing intake) cam can have about the same cranking pressure as a 10:1 with small cam.
There are some really cool calculators online (try RB Racing to start) that can help you figure out all this stuff if you know the numbers and are willing to spend a little time doing the math.
I've used them this way, and by golly they were right on the money...