Ahh! DanG. I'm sorry I didn't warn you before hand about that brass clicker!
I can't even remember how much longer I ran the forks after the mistake but it would have been quite a few hours. No issues with the silver solder holding up. Like others have said its not a stressed part. At least you're going to have a go at doing it yourself. I took the cheats way out and paid a heap for someone elses time, but it got it fixed. In the end it took over 6 months of trying to chase a replacement OEM and didn't come up with anything. I got 2 small air bleeder bolts sent to me which were supposed to be the clickers. Oh well..
I just checked my carts, and same pattern as Matts. I didn't sustain any damage to my base valve removing it, however you can see where the socket has bitten under impact. Maybe I'll have a go at cracking the cartridge one day just for educational purposes.