Thanks! Went to Lowe's and bought a 1/2" flare plug which appears to have straight threads on it. Lowe's has those "try it" bolt and nut racks where you can check your thread sizes. Tried a NPT fitting in the flare female spot and it caught after a thread or two just like what it does on my head. Tried the flare plug in the NPT female spot and it was just the slightest bit loose but went in cleanly. Think it may work. Will try tomorrow and will post the result.
