: I thought this would be easy enough until i removed the existing one. The previous owner had a conair waterpik type with a long hose. When I removed this, there was a ball at the end of the shower pipe that would not come off. Not sure if it is permanent or not. What are my options? If i have to replace the shower arm, how do i do that?
: Thanks in advance!

Sounds like a Price Pfister shower arm.
Replacing with a standard threaded one should do the trick. A bit of Teflon tape and pliers should do it.