The 67,000 mile bike ran fine but figured I should check valves, not knowing if/when the previous owner checked them. At this point I am going to chalk it up to potential user error. That is, my exertion on inserting gauge might have been the issue. I remeasured those 2 odd guys using minimal pressure and recorded rather normal gaps. Actually, all of the valve measurements are within range, except 1, it was only .0005 inches off. I'm going to let that one go. But, plan to recheck in the Spring.
Thanks for all the feedback. I learned much.