Keep a wet hand towel around for dealing with little annoyances.
A propane torch needn't be a scary thing. It's just a tool.
Think of it as a more compact and high-intensity hair dryer. But don't try drying your hair with it.
It does require practice, to get a feel for the heat and timing. That could be done with some of the scrap pipe that's being discarded. Use connectors, they're the cheapest. Cut the old pipe, clean it, and solder a connector in. Do a few of those until you feel confident, and you'll be doing wet-work in no time.
Yeah, even with your description I realize I will pay the green when I need that kind of help. :-) I bow to your expertise.
Shark-Bites... ;-)
Not as cheap as the sweat-em-in stuff but quick, connects to any type of piping, reusable, easily disassembled, and so simple even an obama could do it while choomed...