When I did this video in this thread
http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=251762 I had all the neck hardware in place. I merely disconnected the yoke cable, CRT base, HV cable, and unpluged and unbolted the convergence board. All before unmounting the CRT. I then merely lifted and set the CRT in the bucket so the convergence board was in the bottom. After I finished and remounted the CRT I got the exact same picture quality (yes the purity and convergence were still as I had them) as before I pulled the CRT.
With how well leaving the neck hardware on worked I plan to do that on all future tubes that I decat.
Tom C.