Ruready2go said: As Bob states above that he just glued it back on and did not use rivets again, would I still need the bonding strip...?

I'm pretty much convinced the factory did things like that for a reason, Bonding steel to Fiberglass isn't a good idea mostly due to differences in thermal expansion, if the 2 different parts expand at a different rate, the bond will eventually fail. By riveting the bonding strip to the header, it is allowed to move and flex some, the bonding strip in essence becomes part of the surround panel (secondary bond).
I honestly could not recommend eliminating the strip.