Yeah 1buckie, I fired it up for about 15 minutes in indirect mode and I was happy that it worked - but I just don't trust the metal (just a plated sheet from OSH). No bad signs of anything, but still...
That's why I'm looking for leads on a replacement baffle.
In the mean time, fire bricks using direct mode showed temp rise pretty good after a short time - it might work for pizza. I'll play with that some more after I'm done cleaning it up.
Thanks for the welcome Duke! I still need to swing by for the rocks.