OK guys here is the latest checks.
I took the socket out of the metal housing which is attached to the top of the door knob cap. I then used a craft stick to hold it up away from the metal. I also had to unsolder and disconnect the lead from pin #7 that is soldered to the cup. I made a small extension so I could clip it back to the metal cup. I had no difference in my HV.
I then disconnected the wire lead from the metal cup, thus taking the door knob cap out of the circuit and when I tried it, my HV jumped up to about 6800v. There was also a small "squealing" coming from the flyback area, but no arcs were seen in a darkened room. Also I didn't see the blue haze in the 1B3GT tube either. I didn't want to run it much like this. BTW, these tests are done with the test CRT so I don't have the capacitance from the standard 14" tube.
I'm beginning to suspect the door knob cap.