Water Heaters - Did I Break Something?

My hot water heater had a serious leak and apparently ruined floor so I shut it off -drained it-moved it out of closet space installed new floor hooked everything back up and refilled and turned it on or so I thought it was. no hot water after several hours. breaker is ok but still get nothing. did i damaged something when i moved it? reset button not popped out to indicate it needs reset! now what?

You probably blew an element. Do you have something to test continuity? Voltage reader? You can check the continuity of the elements to see if they are blown or not. Course..they are cheap and easy to replace..so you could just do that.

Other then that..recheck all your wires. make sure everything is connected and didn't come loose.

do i need to shut off water and drain tank to install new elements?

Tricky question. I would recommend since you are not a plumber then yes. Make sure you turn the power off first and do NOT turn it back on again till the tank is FULL of water. No water in tank with power = blown elements. Everytime.

So yes..turn power off. Drain tank. Replace elements. Refill tank. Turn power on. Blow air out of your faucets. I would recommend opening the hot side on your closest faucet when refilling the tank so most the air will exit there.

Sometimes us professionals will leave the water in the tank and switch the elemnt out real quick without much water leaving the tank...but unless you've done it numerous times..it would be easier on you to just drain it. At least to a point below the elements. You don't have to drain it completely.