I was finally able to work free the can hiding the detector diode. I desoldered one leg of the diode and tested it. It tested "normally" with a drop of .275 and no reverse current. I may replace it anyway, as there may be other problems with it undetectable by my multimeter and after 60 years of use.
Another idea that ham friend, who is also very experienced in TV repair suggested, was to inject a 1Khz signal (using a .1 uF) along the signal path and see where there's a hard stop. The 1Khz signal should display black bars (according to him) on the screen. Injecting at a point where black bars don't display on the CRT is supposed to indicate the location of failed component.
I may see if I can get my hands on a tested/NOS 8AW8A to swap out.
Roger on the separated grounds on the board and making sure to clip those to chassis prior to testing. Great call.