Hi Mitch,
Yes, I've come across a few pinched diaphragms. Not a problem so long as they're not actually punctured. Refit carefully and that's that.
Leave the pressed in brass components alone other than checking for obvious blockages.
Before you go altering the lone float height, the one you suspect has a bent tang, check it against the others by sighting along the line of the floats when they're at the correct position for checking/setting their heights. You can do this by putting one end of the carbs on the bench and by angling the bank towards you so that the carbs are about 30 degs to the bench. Tilt the entire bank gently to get the floats hanging completely clear of the needle valves. Now rotate them back the other way carefully until they just stop moving. That's the position to compare alignment. If you continue to rotate the carbs further, you should see the floats move again as they overcome the spring pressure in the needle valves and settle completely.
Indeed odd that one float pivot should be shorter than the rest but at least you have replacements to hand.