It is absolutely awesome, thanks Stephen.
Actually having the tube problem at start up was a blessing, it forced me to really examine the schematic and go over my hook ups versus the layout. It made me think a bit instead of just following the layout. In hindsight, the improper voltage reading indicated too much current through the resistor (if resistance is constant and voltage goes down, current must go up). So the shorted pin should have been obvious.
I'm so stoked on this amp and the iceberg of knowledge I've just chipped, I'm already thinking about another build. I'll think it over for a month or two but I think a Triwatt is in my near future.
Now for the question of the day. Please help me understand jumpering of the channels. I'm experimenting. I find if I plug the guitar into the normal channel and jumper into the TMB, the normal channel volume is primary (if I turn it to zero, no soiund regardless of TMB settings). However if I plug into the TMB and jumper to the normal channel I can mix any combination on the volume controls (including zero) and always get sound. Is this right?