Thanks Tech. The short of it is the previous owner had a new compressor installed last August and when I got the car a few weeks later(shipped from CA) the ac didn't blow cold because of a leak I detected at the port connections at te compressor. Via phone the mech who did the work in CA, poorly obviously, suggested I change the o-rings and he sent me a set. The weather turned cool so I put it off til now. I used the green and metal rings with some nylog, evacuated the system with an ac vacuum pump, then looked to see if it held at 30Hg. Over a half hour period it went from 30 to 20, then 15 to 10 then close to nothing over an hour. Perhaps I didn't tighten the hose properly.
So, I'll check around for a shop to do that n2 you suggested. Thanks for your advice. Greatly appreciated from down here in swampland. It's gonna get hot.