o the getScm() call creates a new instance of the scm bean so I corrected some spots where it was being used because it was assuming the target/checkout directory for the prepare phase. this needs a touch of work but i left it pretty much as is to get it working. i have successfully prepared for the release and now i'm going to try and perform the release.
maven/components/trunk/maven-plugins/maven-release-plugin/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugin/release/PrepareReleaseMojo.java