It's all fixed -sorta.. I wound up putting the old tube gauge back on as I had a six day run to go on. The more I read this thread, the more I realized my install would work but had the potential to be unsafe. The large passages of the 1/2" piping, the small passage of the blow down valve would have prevented fast velocity for clearing debris from the upper and lower piping. After examining the old gauge, it does have very small passages about the same size as the passage in it's blowdown valve. I run out of the lake so having correct blow down/cleaning ability is essential. It would have worked, but I wasn't feeling comfortable with it and went back to the old gauge. This winter I will take another stab at it.
Thanks for all the input, Ron