George,

I got the water heater successfully installed today. We are up and
running with hot water !!

I put the water heater on some of the flexible rubber matting that is
installed in the bottom of showers before tile is put down, whatever
that is called.

After I cleaned the fitting with a wire brush, turned out it wasn't
nearly as bad as I thought it was - mostly surface corrosion that I
cleaned off. It is good enough to continue to use, so I did.

Thanks for the advice.

Tim