I dont know about Pat but i know Bob is still around and i believe he still lurks here and i know he posts on the merc high performance board on the BBC.
Bob is the service manager at my dealer and i talk to him from time to time.
I just posted your question over at BBC and found out he's active over there. He just posted on the Setup forum and the Champion forum. So he's still alive.... he just doesn't love us here at NTOWS anymore .