The heat's working now--mostly
Heating/cooling guy came this afternoon to look at the heater. I'm glad I went with the afternoon appointment rather than the morning one, because I couldn't get to sleep until after the sun was most definitely up, and didn't get out of bed until an hour and a half before the guy got her as it was. In the hour he was here, he apparently cleaned out "a lot of rust" which was apparently making some key component stuck, unable to move, making the whole system just not go. But now it can, meaning the heat works again. Mostly.
The switch that automatically turns on the blower when there's heat from the heater is apparently not working. Which means I have to turn the fan on manually from the thermostat. So, until we get this fixed, the blower will be running way more than necessary. But at least I've got the heat working before I really need it. (The house was a little warmer than we sometimes have it intentionally in winter. But it felt chilly right after I'd been in the Bay Area.)
The switch that automatically turns on the blower when there's heat from the heater is apparently not working. Which means I have to turn the fan on manually from the thermostat. So, until we get this fixed, the blower will be running way more than necessary. But at least I've got the heat working before I really need it. (The house was a little warmer than we sometimes have it intentionally in winter. But it felt chilly right after I'd been in the Bay Area.)