Follow up: After a one day douche, a water spritz & 2 days of drying, I re-installed that bad boy.
Results: Car idles like two cylinders disconnected, with blue smoke wafting from the exhaust. Not pretty. I had also regenerated the K & N filter in the interim. Oh well, it's back to the trusty imitation SVX Impreza MAF.
I still wonder though if any stealthy long term ill effects will come along to bite me in the arse.
Ron.