Many thanks to all who replied with suggestions.
VERY long day,(yesterday) so very long story short:
Spoke to the gal in the flooring dept at HD, she assured me they do NOT sell white oak flooring. Sooooooooo, Got the managers name, went up in person with the unused portion (16 out of 27 bundles) and he not only agreed, they should never have had a pallet of white oak in the store, but he gave me credit for all 27 bundles, PLUS a 30% discount on a nice new Bostitch floor stapler. Took a while to jump through all the hoops, as they only had 9 bundles of red in stock as opposed to the 94 they showed on the computer. Had to stop by the other store on the way home for the balance. Good news: No more money spent 'cept the nail gun, and Bad news: I have to rip up a 12x15 room full of 2 1/4" flooring. But it'll be the way we want it in the end. We've only been working on this house 6 years as it is. By the time we got headed for the store, my wife and I had already agreed we'd tear it out even if we had to buy it again. Live and learn. Read labels, double and triple check what they bring to the door.
Thanks for all the input.