Amending to include additional HSA contribution

when I step through the amendment process it is now calculating a refund rather than reducing the amount I owe.  do I pay the original tax liability and then the amendment refund will eventually offset it?

After you file

Yes, the original return and the amendment are two separate processes.

If you have e-filed your original return and had tax due, you should have gotten a 1040-V with your tax return to mail in with a check (unless you did a direct debit from your checking account).

This check must be mailed by April 18, 2017, or else it is considered a late payment.

It's very unlikely that your amendment would be processed by then, even if you mailed it today.

Since the e-file process and the amendment process are totally separate down at the IRS, they don't have a way to net a refund against a tax due.

So go ahead and make your payment on the original return (unless, as I noted, you did a direct debit), and then file your amended return, and your refund will come eventually.