I did as instructed. No slide barrel locked in place, the mag top edge is about a business card thickness from the bottom of the feed ramp that is milled into the frame. The ramp in the frame meets the bottom of the barrel feed ramp perfectly. With this set up I loaded a mag with new cartridges. Using my thumb the round went up the ramp and chambered perfectly each time I tried. Checked the bottom of slide under the firing pin area, no real wear there. None of this made sense. So.......
I took another look at both mags. Took them apart, reassembled, worked the followers letting them snap in place. Compressed the springs numerous times with a dowel. Both mags were easier to load but still took some effort to load the eighth round. Thumped the mags and noticed that the top round did not always postion properly, so I pushed down on the rounds a few times and thumped the mags. Reassembled the pistol, locked the slide back inserted both mags with only light thumb pressure and every round chambered without a hick up.
I got to thinking and examined my dummy rounds I had been using. The rims were rough from the extractor. I am thinking that with all of the tight tolerances that the burrs on the dummy rounds retarded the feed just enough to cause problems. (I know, dumb rookie mistake).
I have ordered some cheap grips and when they get here I will test fire the pistol and let you know what happens.
For now fresh catridges, paying close attention to the position of the top cartride even after bumping the mag seems to work well.
I wish to THANK YOU Warbird for your time and patience and working with me. It is much appreciated.
That is what I like about forums like this. There is always a couple of people willing to share their expertice with us less informed guys. Hopefully I can help someone in the future as well.