thank you for reading and understanding my question and also for the thorough the reply @dmertz I meet all criteria for the conversion, the rollover and understand the restrictions and impact on taxes owed. I understand how and when a simple distribution affects income. I called the IRS yesterday and spent an hour on the phone with someone from the IRS trying to get an answer and she spent quite a lot of time reviewing forms 590 (page 33) and publication 505 (pages 29, 31 and 32 ) and referred me to form 2210. In the end, she could not and would not confirm the sequence of steps in my question are permitted by the IRS and suggested I contact a certified tax professional for advice. Appreciate the time you took to review and reply to my question.
