here is picture of how the T fitting goes into the heater core supply line , sensor which controls the EATC to "NOT" come on if the water is less than 100degF.,, unless you select Defrost.
I can't remember if my Sport had one of those or not. I swapped to manual HVAC a couple summers ago, think I pitched the old box, it was cracked and had a rat nest in it, which is about the only reason i pulled it in the first place.
i posted this pic because even the shop manual does not show the second section hose being this long.
Mason's bird is virgin in many areas and this is one section i did not want to miss posting because i need to replicate this on my 20th as well.
I replaced all those hoses on mine. I got them at Orielly's. If I remember correctly they are the same as the hoses on a Mark VII. The set up on my Mark VII looks them same as the one on my Thunderbird so that kinda makes sense.