Metspitzer wrote:

My central air has a drain line that drains into a drain in the
basement. The water/fluid is not coming from that drain. Besides
that, the outside unit has water around the base. I just noticed it
at sun down. I haven't noticed water there before. Can that be
normal or am I looking at a refrigerant leak?

A small amount of water at the condenser is normal in humid weather. The
refrigerant line heading into the house is insulated, but the
refrigerant lines inside the condenser unit are not and condensation
will form on the cold portions of those internal components and drip
down and run outside. In less humid weather there won't be enough to
make it outside the unit before it evaporates.