reviving thread, because there is no solid answer as of what i can see.

my experience tells me:

the diesel acts as a non invasive solvent (ok in the engine oil system) to break down gunked up oil. its a fail safe preventative measure against damaging the immediate components, assuming they are all serviceable within spec. in this case the lash adjuster's internals.

the amount of diesel expelled during start up will dilute the engine oil, but not in significant percentages. you may change the oil after break-in or not. (highly recommended)

and yes, you can use engine oil instead of diesel to bleed them, but for the main part you are skipping the preventative "cleaning" step of the install to avoid the ticking, and possible damage. due to gunked up lash adjusters, but if you know they are fine, then by all means skip the cleaning step because there is nothing to break free or clean in it. DONE!!!

 

here a video i found of someone bleeding them might help out
http://youtu.be/DtEUP3YSxFQ

 

One day I decided to start the engine with the valve cover removed. Oil went everywhere. As the cam lobes came around the lifters squirted oil. So, the diesel fuel is not going to be in there long once the engine is started. Some people may not know this.

BTW, I install lifters empty.