At this point I'm stoked to reverse polarity and see what happens, tube rolling may be a moot point. Thanks for the tips and troubleshooting all. Let you know what happens. If it is the 'a ha' moment, I'll be one very happy puppy.
Appreciate the tips on tube buying on ebay and such. I was going to go through a dealer called we-252 who runs a store called FantasticTubes, if anyone is familiar with them. Great feedback and a Power seller.
So in a general question, what's the deal with inversing polarity? Why do some manufacturers do it and not others? What's the advantage?