I like that blog Restoring Vintage Bicycles from the Hand Built Era, and seeing what I saw brought this post to mind (though I did not intentionally steal her turn of phrase):

https://restoringvintagebicycles.com...fork-failures/

I hadn't read through the comments from this post before, and she makes a compelling case for simply getting a new fork. If it's cost prohibitive to fix, I'll look into that option. Since this is a keeper bike, I am not factoring a full quality repaint into the repair cost. I might instead primer it until I can powder coat. Woe is the tinkerer who finds a task beyond his skills...