ChuckT,
If you look at Eddie's first attachment, the ring gap (@ 10 o'clock) indicates a minimum of 0.200, and the engine most probably was hydraulicing to make compression and keep running. Hence excessive oil consumption.
His second attachment, the ring gap (@ 3 o'clock red arrow) is closer to 0.018-0.020 which appears to be standard in the diesels I've worked with. I don't have the shop manual handy, but diesel is near double the compression of gasoline engines.
Mark