The Water Pump - Frustration Defined

Here are the steps taken on the water pump:
1) Put the new water pump on, and thought the gasket seemed pretty chincy, as it was just plastic. It leaked.
2) Used the same plastic gasket, this time with a coating of black Permatex on both sides. It leaked.
3) Took the pump off and examined the pump and gastket and it became clear why it was leaking - the gasket didn't fit the pump.

4) I was in a hurry to get it back together, so I did without the gasket and just used Permatex. It leaked.
5) I got a new gasket from NAPA and redid the thing, this time using Permatex High Tac. It leaked. It was leaking in a new place, around one of the bolts, so I thought maybe I needed to tighten it. When I did, it leaked much worse, and became appearant that the pump itself was cracked. When I tightened the bolt, it opened the crack in the pump.
6) I bought a new pump which had a new gasket, a paper gasket. Put it all together and its holding fine. This new pump had a heavier casting, and the pulley mounting hub is machined the way it should be so that you can get a socket on the cap screws that hold the pulley on. On the other pump, the pulley mounting hub interfered with puting a socket on the cap screws, so you had to use an open-end wrench to tighten and loosen them. It was a pain.