Can a prior Navy person now in the army still be awarded the right to wear a combat patch for the gulf war?

Short answer....no. You get your combat patch from units you deployed with, or served with in theater. And the "served with" has strings attached. But basically, if you were assigned to an Army unit during the war, and that unit's commander was the guy who gave you orders and wrote your evaluations, you earned a combat patch. In many cases, if you were "OPCON" to an Army unit, you can also receive a combat patch. In all cases, the award is published in orders. If you don't have orders from an Army unit awarding you a combat patch, you can't wear one. But look at the bright side. We are still at war, and you will have many opportunities to start your collection.

The answer is no. The Navy does not have any unit patches to wear that will transfer over to the Army. The Marines do.

On the surface, that's incorrect. Although all assets were attached to centcom, your parent service was still the navy, and with very few exceptions, they do NOT issue combat patches.