From what I see, David gets the beer on this one. It's lots of current gain, and my RF millivoltmeter isn't seeing this fact. The PIN diode seems fine. I can adjust the gain through this amp using the gain controls as expected. This amp section was a distraction. Time to move on down the line.
That being said, thank you guys! I am WAY out of my league here, but learning tons from some of the most intelligent minds on the subject. I am VERY grateful every time something like that has happened in my life. Like my knowledge of all of the high power triode, tetrode, klystron, and IOT amplifiers I have maintained over the past 33 years, while minuscule compared to those who I helped at the time, eventually rubbed off, and I thank you gentlemen for smearing a bit of that knowledge on my synapses!
73,
Matt