AMC Eagle

[MIPS]

My thought exactly.
If I read the service docs there's a hose that directly connects the air filter housing to the top of the valve cover. Onside the air filter housing the hose terminates at a small plastic bucket with a felt pad for a filter. It seems as if air is drawn in through this point so the valve cover can breathe but that then does not explain why the valve cover still has its own PCV. Likewise there must of been a LOT of oil that was coughed up as the bucket was full, the felt was drenched and everything around it was soaked.
The problem is known and mentioned here and I performed the steps to verify the mentioned actuators were working. They were, so I can't tell what happened. I will have to verify cylinder compression when I replace the plugs but the engine sure isn't burning oil.