Phil,
Thank you very much for your help. As always, you are a fount of knowledge.
The way you describe your setup is how I was envisioning it too, but wasn't sure if there was a better way. (I remember how we hooked up our bunson burners in chemistry lab in high school, and figured this would work the same way.)
I'll definitely be hiring out to have the work done. Would a plumber be who I call? I will definitely check the inner diameter of the hose
Have a great day,
Lloyd