Okay, I've been restoring a '93 that I'm giving my daughter to take out-of-state (hell, across the country).
Latest project (among many) is that I've been working on the front of the engine (new poly accessory bushings, all 3 new shaft seals, tensioner, timing belt; and I'm about to install new drive belts, "tropical" fan clutch, etc.).
Of course, this included a new water pump (a Hepu, of course), which brings us to my worry:

Following a concensus of lots of advice on this forum, I used sealant (Permetex RTV) on the small seal (to the heater pipe), and did not use anything on the gasket (on the back of the pump).
But there were differences of opinion (use RTV, etc.) on what to use on the large O-ring (to the head) -- and I finally chose to use silicone (not sealant/adhesive, but just pure silicone) simply as a lubricant to let the gasket slide into the head's orifice, which it seemed to do nicely.

But now I'm worried -- did I do the right thing using silicone?

I haven't put in coolant yet -- and I have an extra gasket set, so I can change it out for a substitute. Any opinions?