You guys are correct ! the valve is a good 2 inches above the bottom of the cooler, and my old 5 gal tun the valve is less than an inch from the bottom. Talked to a manager and he let me exchange the square 12gal cooler for a 10 gal round cooler. I measured the 10 gal cooler at the store and the hole sits less than an inch from the bottom.
Went home and installed bulkhead, valve, and my old manifold. I'm brewing Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgearld clone this Sunday.
Thanks for the help
Mike K