Hey, don't worry about saving face - we have all done something to our cars that was a little embarrassing at one time or another. Remember what I did? Changed the injectors, remounted the fuel rail back on, put the turbo, throttlebody and everything friggin else back together - without pressurizing the fuel rail first to check for leaks.....and then found that hidden injector #4 was leaking like a sieve due to a gouged o-ring. Cost me about 4 extra hours of labor.
Glad you found another rail replacement. Good luck!
I think with the right fuel pressure, an Idle Air Control motor adjustment or two, and a recheck of the TPS voltage, you can get that baby running a lot better. The 42.5 LB. injectors will have a tendancy to make your car run rich without some careful checking of pressure and tuning. Your MAF sensor was just fine, reading at 4 to 5 at idle.
Wayne