Water heater fill issue-valve issue?

rmnpcolorado wrote:
If I want water to flow I have to have the bypass valve open. Even with the hot and cold valves open, I get no flow. Nothing from faucets, nada.

The hot top/cold bottom concurs with plumbing. So the hot would be "exhaust" if you will. Which tells me my intake valve is remaining shut when I turn the knob.

I just hate to rip it apart, be wrong and then have to put it back together. :-)

Have you tried more than one faucet set?
You can experimentally check that the valve to the cold water input of your heater is working or not by turning off the water heating elements, turn the bypass to off, and open the water heater drain valve. The water will continue to drain with pressure behind it and the pump will run if there is flow into the tank. If the drain stops flowing, then the supply valve to the water heater or a check valve would be suspect.