Thanks guys, now I guess I got to tackle UV mapper again.  Dumb questions:  How do you do UV mapping manually vs clicking on make uv map and deciding (if C7 lets me) whether I do 6 sided etc?

--and define making a new surface after the boolean (unless it means figuring out what part of the uv map is for what part of the combined boolean).  I do know that the resulting combo is default grey wiping out everything. 

Again guys thanks for your quick replies.----Jan