Good news! I was able to get a tap in there to chase the threads with the pipes still on the car. It appeared that the metal for the sensor was softer than the stainless and it galled up inside threads. It took me some fussing but with dental type picks and a mirror I was able to clean out the top threads, then I put a torch on the bung to expand it a bit and was finally able to start the tap. The tap is and 18x1.5. I am so thankful I was able to fix this without too much fuss. Please use never-seize...someone with thank you later!
(got my shiny new rennline covers on too, hopefully they'll keep some oil where it is supposed to be)
