just skimmed through quickly.
Instead of taking the head off to check TDC you can take an injector out and use a long pencil (or something longer preferably) to measure TDC. When the pencil stops rising thats TDC. You can't do it by your self obviously but the theory is there.
I definitely agree that you WILL find a TDC mark. I don't think the flywheel goes on without being in the right place on the crank. there is a weird offset making it 5 bolts.