@kenberthiaume My dad bought a 1995 Corolla 1.8 7A-FE new, back in 1995. It used oil right from day one. It was considered “normal” by the local Toyota dealer and thus “did not warrant repairs.” It was dealer maintained until 57K, at which point I got it.
It consistently used about 1qt per 1K, as yours does. There were never any leaks, as I regularly replaced cam seals, crank seals and valve cover gaskets at timing belt services, which I personally did every 60K.
I highly doubt that your valve cover gasket is contributing to much of the oil consumption. it sounds as if the spark plug tube seals are leaking. But you get those when you buy a valve cover gasket kit. That is probably why your mechanic said the valve cover gasket is leaking. That’s just my opinion.
I hope that you are able to slow down your oil consumption. But don’t be too disappointed if you’re still topping off regularly.