Yep...agree. It's a little strange to me that I heard several times, from different avenues/sources/persons, "Helicoil, Helicoil, Helicoil!" I suspect not one of them had ever actually had to remove, re-tap, and insert a Helicoil, but probably just wanted project "knowledge"!

Happily, I found out I have in my network a former Army mechanic that worked on vehicles large and small, including Apaches and Black Hawks, as well as being a professional BMW/German car mechanic for years while living in Germany. He took care of the issue, without needing a Helicoil, in about 15 minutes such that a new transmission pan bolt I had just picked up from Toyota stealership went right in as usual/normal, so...hooray.

And he's the guy that also recommended (well...ordered, really) me to use Liqui-Moly products, which is pretty much all I use in my vehicle now when it comes to lubrication or additives.