Okay fellas. I'm back, post cabin air filter retrofit install. After 218,000 miles, there was a metric crap ton of pine needles and dust in the HVAC box thing in front of the evaporator. To make matters harder, its been raining here, and I had the defrost on this morning while i was driving around. So I don't know how I didn't expect this but the evaporator was all wet which as far as I can tell is normal- given that the refrigerant as it evaporates in the evaporator expands and cools the coil sub-ambient, which is why it gets moisture on it- which is why the AC box needs a drain (thankfully mine is functional). I shoved paper towels up in it and then removed them and then worked at it with a toothbrush to remove as much crap as possible, shoved the cabin air filter in the slot, and then put the door on. Tighened the screw to make the little foam gasket compress a bit, and then put the kick panel cover back on. Fingers crossed for no leaks because I can't stand water leaks. I'm going to pull the cover down in a few days because its got foam insulation on it and see if its damp. If it is, I'm going to pull the filter door off, and drown it in RTV, then put it back on there. Given that you only really need to change cabin air filters once every year or two, I'd be okay with having to scrape some off if it means I don't have moldy carpet. Prob also going to pull the AC drain tube off in the engine bay and run a pipe cleaner thru it a little bit just to see what happens. Will report back.