The metal ring is not in the gasket but actually its in the heads. double check the heads to make sure its not there. And if its not thats ok will not hurt anything. I assume as in your title fuelie327 your a chevy guy? Fords have a weak point on cylinder head sealing. Only 4 bolts around the cylinder as chevy has 5. Luckly for Ford, head gasket design has improved a lot.