Your best bet here. This is where I got mine after much searching:
These engines have a very high rate of valve seal failure. The converter will usually mask the smoke as soon as the engine RPM comes up a bit.
Replacing the gaskets had no influence on the oil consumption other than stopping the leaks. I suspect your switch to synthetic oil resulted in cleaning sludge from potential internal leaks like the valve seals.
The valve seals can be replaced w/o tearing theengine down. It is rather time consuming. You will need a good air compressor and an adapter to pressurize each cylinder while you replace the seals. You will also need lots of patience and a good assortment of hand tools. As far as time goes, I am told Ford give 11 hours to replace the valve seals. I spent about 14 hours the first time not counting sleeping or breaks. I also have the necessary power tools available to do the job and there were no adult beverages involved. This is a job for a fairly well equipped intermediate to advanced DIY'er.