well, after 24 hours on the charger one pack is at 4.08 volts and the other appears to be working. My regulator is wired after the switch as I'd been told about the draining in the regulator when I bought the batteries.

The one that was on the blinking light is the one that appears to be working (with a 1 amp load I'm at 7.5 volts.

That passes my tests here, So I'm gonna fly today and send the other pack in for a check.

Tom, and others, thanks for the input.

Lost a great day of flying yesterday over this. Bummer.