RE: Muffler welding?
My experience with Alumiweld is that its melting point is too low for effective use on exhaust systems. Find a local weld shop that will do TIG. They'll probably just fit it between jobs or have someone thats learning the process do it for you. Make sure you tell them you don't want any pores in the final weld or you'll eventually have an oily mess inside the cowl from leakage through the weld.
Brad