I think my 8 ¾ housing is toast.

You can probably get good answers to all your questions by sending an email (or calling) to Dr. Diff at

[email protected]

He doesn't try to sell anything and he replies quickly.

After re-reading my reply above, I need to clarify that my suggestion in no way implies that I think the answers to this thread have not been good. They have all been good and sent in the right spirit. Instead, I should have written that Dr. Diff has probably seen and dealt with this problem before. My bad, and I apologize to anyone who felt offended.