Thanks for the guidance Bob, I appreciate it. I did a search not too long about thermostats (trying to find guidance about gaskets, leaks, torquing, etc.) and I did see where you mentioned the same thing (fighting a leak for years and then going with just using silicone without the gasket). So if I go with just the silicone, am I right in thinking that I shouldn't torque the bolts to factory spec (which is 28-30 ft pds for the water neck outlet fasteners)? I would think that torquing to those specs would still cause the problem of the aluminum to bow.
The hard part is that I am noticing that there are a lot of differing opinions and solutions that have worked for many of our members on the forum (silicon only, gasket plus silicon, gasket only, Indian Head shellac and gasket, etc....). The good news is that deciding on which of the many solutions to use is good problem to have! Thanks again. I greatly value the input that I receive from everyone on this forum when faced with the same problem.