"...There was some pitting on one cyclinder head they said they can fix w/ something like POR-15 epoxy..."

Are you saying that one of the candidate replacement heads has some pitting, or your old head had some pitting. (Hopefully they aren't trying to fill-in the pits on the head that is about to go in the trash anyway.) I don't know if using Por15 is an acceptable way to deal with pits in the surface. I would lean towards trying to find a head that doesn't have that problem to begin with.

As far as the valve work - Basically it just involves making sure that the valve and valve seat surfaces aren't badly burnt such that when the valve is closed it isn't closing good and tight. Another thing about the valves is making sure that the stems are not getting too loose in the guides and allowing oil to enter the combustion chamber during the intake stroke. The problem is that if you have to remove the valves to inspect these things, you then start to ask yourself "Should I go ahead and grind the valves and seats and put in new guides while it's apart?" One thing leads to another......

BTW - Having a shop that isn't overly anxious to get into your wallet is probably a blessing. It's certainly better that the opposite.