We got the water heater finished, thank you
Lord for small favors. Fortunately, all the critical connections were same locations as the old unit(I love standardization on critical installs). A little cleanup with the wire brush, soapy water check on the gas lines and we are good to go. Now that old one; I will cut it up in such a way as to create that burn pit I have been wanting; and remove the gas burner and I will be able to build an outdoor cooker for shrimp boils and frying turkeys.
Lot of fun, too. For some folks. Like me.
/johnny