I have a complete working set now so I can say all voltages good, all socketed chips known good, ribbon cables known good.
On this problem, acid-free main board shows 1 and 3 LEDs lit and nothing happens when you push the self-test button on the board itself. If the CPU is removed, the results are the same so the LEDs are not showing any legit self-test results.
I have replaced the sockets for the CPU, the 6845 and the 2114 RAM (U2 and U3), cleaned and reflowed headers with all new solder as well.
The test points are as follows which are all the same as on a working PCB with the exception of TP1 which starts high then goes low (INVERT signal).
1 = high w/ "chatter"
2 through 5 = pulse
6 = low
7 = high
8 = high
Summary: there's clock and input and output where there should be on the CPU and the 6845, even the 4116 are pulsing, but nothing on screen and can't even start self-test (yes, self-test switch tests good).