A) Your camera pictures suck. A real camera would give us decent pictures so we can give you decent answers.
B) Yes you have oxidation. To get them clean, the best is to get them buffed out. A real pipe shop should be able to do that for you, or let you to it yourself. If you get to Green Bay, the guy in DePere will do it for you at the shop on the West Side of town.
C) You nasty taste is partly because of the oxidation and partly because of the fact that they are just dirty. They need a total cleaning - at least that is what it appears to me from the cruddy pictures you put up there.
You know I love to yank your chain MJ.
Something that can help, is a lot of elbow grease and a can of briar wipe. Get a handiwipe (it is a kind of cloth you can find in the grocery store). Unfold it and lay it flat on some sort of surface that won't absorb anything - I like a big cookie sheet. As evenly as possible, empty the entire contents of the can of Briar Wipe on the Hand-wipe. Let it dry for about 20 minutes. Now, use the briar wipe on the outside of the pipe, stem, etc... When done, put this cloth in a Ziplock freezer bag and seal. Whenever you need to use it, take it out. Always return it to the freezer bag and seal. This one whip should last you quite a few years, probably until it disintegrates. As my vulcanite stems show some oxidation, some elbow grease and this cloth usually get the best of it - and the formula seems to do a good job of protecting the stem from quickly oxidizing again.
Except for my smart aleck teasing, I hope this helps.