First of all....priceless information!
Second I did the lip and eye bends on site as I was testing. I have a danny lip on it now and will test later. The knot your referring to is the belly lead. I did in fact mark the head with a perm marker. Thats how I determine "tolorable roll" as well.
Your ideas/info have me starting from scratch which at this point seems the best.
Hey learn as you go right! All in the fun of testing.
Thanks all for the input!