Yes, fix the stripped thread NOW! Once the engine is in and running, it will be much harder to fix. I'd reccomend a Heli-Coil. I've used them for the past 30 years, with almost 100% success. Just be careful about the chips the threading operation will generate. I like to fill the flutes of the tap with wheel bearing grease, and pull most of the chips out of the hole with the tap.
Jerry


"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!