Walk me through what you actually found when you pulled that panel, because a 2 foot black patch right at the faucet doesn't sound like it came from the caulk line alone. Was the soft spot coming from the tub side, or was water getting behind the panel up higher and running down, like from the escutcheon or a sloppy bead where the panel met the wall? I ask because if the leak was above the lip, no amount of flashing at the tub will save you and you'd be chasing the wrong joint. And to answer your question, what I do at the lip is skip the tape and mud fight and just run a strip of waterproof membrane or a glued-on flange backer behind the panel, then seal the bottom edge with a good bead of 100 percent silicone. Taping and mudding drywall in a wet corner is asking for the same crumbly mess in another four years.

Appreciate the detail about cutting back to a fork, that part gets skipped by a lot of folks. Curious what Ray told you about trees that are already way overgrown from years of hard chopping, do you still just take the thin stuff or does that thick wood need to come out slow over a few seasons? Also wondering what your cue is exactly, like are you watching for the buds to actually swell or waiting on a certain soil temp? Down here in 7b we can get a random freeze clear into mid April so I am always second guessing myself.