By way of clarification I was running 8 Hitec 7954's directly off a spectrum 12 channel rx bus powered directly by 2 each 2 cell lipos. The on board spectrum data logger registered 8.2 volts and after 5 flights I still had about 60 percent left in each lipo. Both batteries drained the same. I dismantled and inspected all wiring and found no evidence of any shorts.
Raul with jets Models Factory runs his Ultima-tun with a power distribution box so maybe that is what I will do. I have no experience with these so will have to do some research. I am real reluctant to put my plane back in the air anytime soon until I gain some understanding of what went wrong and the best course of action to prevent the same issue in the future. I appreciate all the responses so far guys.
Steve