Kitchen Gas Appliances - gas water heater venting

This morning I had very little hot water. When I checked our LP water heater, I notice something had flowed out of the venting duct join above the water heater. At that point it was of a very thick consistency. After turning the water heater off and giving it time to cool down, the runs of thick liquid had crystalized. It smelled of something burnt. I had noticed the vent pipes were rather warm prior to shutting the water heater down.
I removed the vent above the hot water heater, pulled the baffle which appeared fine. I also flushed out the hot water tank and ran some water through it.
I am not certain the hot water tank has gone bad. I am also quite confused as to what the little runs of liquid might have been. I look as far as I could see up into the vent, but I could not determine the origination of the liquid.
Have any idea? I would appreciate any help.

Hello BillnBev. Welcome to my Gas Appliances forum and our Do-It-Yourself Web Site.

What's puzzling is why there was less hot water or is that not as hot? As long as the liquid did not contain black carbon deposits, I haven't got a clue.

Have you had rain recently? Could have been a build up on the flu that got rain on it and ran in?

Joelp,
No rain here in a long, long time. However, after further investigation I believe the runs are a mixture of some light condensation and soot, at least that is what it smells like. I drained the tank and flushed it. We have ample hot water for now.
Thanks for posting a reply.