mine went on me last month

was a very expensive job too ( i couldnt do it)
i did tho ask a zillion questions on here whie i shopped around for quotes ..and all of those things that you mention dont actually mean head is gone..
mine overheated on the motorway rapidly, wouldnt hold water.. had white smoke the next day and very little power.. tho it did drive ( i drove it home not knowing what it was

) saved me the towing fee anyway

and of course the mayonaise type mess under the oil fill cap.
i really hope its not the head for you, but yeah i had all sorts of hassle with the garage that did mine.. so if you can get someone highly recomended and sort out skimming etc yourself youll save afair few quid!
mine cost £480 ( he tried t charge me another £60 for the belt too!! but after the rad pipe blew off 2 days after having her back he had her back in to drain refill etc and forgot about the 60 quid

)
fingers crossed for you.