^^^
Pond shopping starts in earnest this week. Should I purchase a water test kit ro check the ponds/creeks im looking to use or just scope it out and have someone else come out for all that?

It really depends on your abilities in chemistry and water analysis. Check out this thread that I started...

https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=508352&page=1

The very first post is where I have collected a lot of "pond water" info and it will save you plenty of time in research. Feel free to PM me if you find other good info and I will post it there for safe keeping. The remainder of the thread is just an area I used to document my pond and the first year I owned the test kits. I am sure I learned something in the process, but not enough to assist anyone in water analysis...my patience for chemistry is lacking. lol. I think someone like myself could determine if the water in question is unsuitable for a pond with the basic kits that I afforded, but some of the kits (like the API Pond Master Test Kit) has a loose resolution and does not lend itself to very fine detail. It is a good beginners kit and will certainly tell you if the water is decent or not.