Probably have a chunk broken off the hose stuck to the nipple

I did find that to be the case after my first reseating attempt this morning, and was able to pull off the remaining ring of hose with my needlenose pliers. The metal nipple is clean of remnants, but I did manage to push the nipple through the side of myhose during the last attempt... so you must be right that the old hose is too brittle.

Compounding my frustration today is the fact the battery was dead this morning, so I'm having to jump it every time I think I might have it on 'well enough', to see if it still leaks. And I had wanted to drive it to the Atlanta meetup today, which I'm missing right now I should probably just let it alone until I get some new hose and am a bit less frustrated.