The 2972-E does not use the 9-pin connectors (if andy's question confused any 2972 owners). All the different crt sockets are all just glommed together in parallel on one big ungainly cable and you use whichever one fits.
The 8080-A is a bit cleaner, the main cable with the octal tube base (that plugs into the 3 octal sockets on the main unit) has a 9-pin Molex-like rectangular female connector at the other end. Then you get a bunch of individual cables with a CRT socket on one end and the male 9-pin Molex-like rectangular connector on the other end. Lets you pick the CRT socket that fits and plug it (and only it) into the main cable. Leave the other cables on the service truck.
I use my 2972-E all the time, with great results.
Case in point: I bought an RCA 721-TS at the ETF convention last spring with a known bad CRT.
So far it's the only "restorable" CRT I've encountered that the Beltron couldn't fix. A "restorable" CRT meaning it has filament continuity and vacuum -- nothing can be done if the filament is burned out or if it's gone to air. Probably goes without saying that somebody before me fried the 721's CRT with a cheapie rejuvenator or ran it forever on a brightener before retiring it. On the bright side (pun intended?) I also bought a well-used 10BP4A at the same time (ETF's silent auction) for a good price, and it responded perfectly to the low-risk "clean" function of the Beltron and shows a nice bright raster on my test jig. Am saving it to put in the 721 when I get a round tuit.
I bought an 8080-A from that ePay place because I was the only bidder and got it for a couple bucks and was curious what the difference between the two was. Not much besides the connectors and an extra switch to power 12V-filament CRTs. Anyway, the 9-pin connector is made by AMP, so I researched it and couldn't find a match. Closest I got was these:
http://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine....38&Ns=P_SField
But I doubt they would plug-n-play. It would be possible to buy a female and then a bunch of males though, and retrofit all the existing connectors and then make new adaptors to your heart's content. I'd be inclined to try that. I need to make a few homemade adapters myself (one for the 7JP4 for sure), so I could go that route if need be.
Back on topic: mattdavala, I think the consensus is for you to NOT run your CRT on a brightener. If it has a dim pic now, without having been abused, it would probably restore to like-new and run for an indefinite period of light use if you got it to a good CRT restorer. Borrow one or buy one from that ePay place next time one shows up. My 2c.