Nitro, that's totally wierd. every engine I've seen is designed to pinch the sleeve between the head button and the block.

I would pull the engine completely apart and measure stuff...

Rod length (center to center)
exhaust port (from top of sleeve to top of port)
transfer & boost ports (measure same as exht port)
TDC (top of sleeve to pistion face; bolt down the head and turn the crank to TDC, pull the head and measure)
BDC (after TDC measurement turn the crank to BDC and measure from top of sleeve to pistion face.)

These measurements will tell me you port timing. Then we will know if you can get away with shimming the sleeve to correct the problem.