Originally posted by Bill1:
..Only thing I question about this theory is why would it not leak for a week, then start dripping?
Ever heard of bolts or screws eventually coming loose due to vibration? 
And do clean the surfaces again to remove all the old gasket and RTV gasket. And you may as well try soaking a new gasket with with coolant for an hour or so (even though I haven't heard of that being a solution to leaking gaskets).
Edit. Oh, and a reasonable condition 1996 Duratec is worth about $2000. $500 is not an insane amount to spend on maintenance and repairs. I have spent $1000 this year and consider it low (I think I am looking at $1500 to $2000 next year).
and I just read Ray's post. Backflush, backflush, backflush... before reinstalling.
One other thing, welcome to CEG. 
"Always do the cheap and easy ones first."
1996 V6 ATX 96K miles
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