Just curious what could cause water in the cylinders besides cracked head or block, bad head gasket or bad riser gasket?

Cracked exhaust.

the gasket on #3 and #7 at the upper water hole looks a little suspicious, particularly #7. Almost looks like an old leak. Too much water pressure can cause a head gasket leak. Start simple and work your way there.

I assume you're talking about the circled part? #7 was definitely the worst.

Number three doesnt look that great either and that is one of the cylinders with water in them. I was going to post a pic but i guess I am not allowed to

I am pretty sure they all had water in them. 3 and 5 were the worst because of piston position when I removed the head.
And I agree they all look like ****.

Yepper! That looks like it clearly leaked there. You should be careful after pulling that gasket that the block or head hasn't corroded at those spots.

Thanks. Will do. Going through the whole engine as the oil pressure dropped and when I cut the filter open it had the texture of gravy that got left in the fridge for 3 months,
Left the gasket on for now to get opinions.

#7 water to cylinder for sure. Between #5 and #7 cyl could have been letting a little combustion leak between themselves.

Also remember, a misfiring cylinder or two can suck water back like a 20yr old can beer on Thirsty Thursday on campus.

Factory heads or aftermarket ? Reason for asking, some aftermarket heads have wider combustion chambers and require a larger bore head gasket, even if larger than cyl bore.

Just curious ..... was that the Fel Pro marine gasket ? How many hours on it ?