Ok So I found a local aquarium business that has been in the neighborhood for 43 years. And I found a few things that might be the reason for my cycling problems. I'll share them here as and share my results as I'm starting over.
I take no position on the accuracy but this man is helping me out so I'm going to try his suggestions.
First off I have been mixing up the test tubes. His position was on the PH tube you cannot use it for anything else or you will get false reads. So I got all new tubes and will keep them all separate.
Next it has been this businesses experience that they have had no success using Prime as a water conditioner while cycling. In fact they ended up going so far as to change substrate before re starting. They won't even carry it in the store.
So like I said most might disagree but I'm not in a position to turn down advice at this point.I'm going with the water conditioner they use.
Lastly my wife and I thought we had stumbled across a great idea for substrate. We saw some decorative glass in the pet sores but it was a few ounces and unpractical to do the whole tank. So I did some searching and found a company that sold crushed, tumbled glass in 50lb bags. It was for many purposes but they advertised a line for Aquariums also. And they had a sale fot $1 a pound.
Well this man told me through trial and error he had came to the opinion that colored glass was bad for the tank. He was shocked that glass could leach but thought it might have to do with the very soft water in our area. So again you might think this is hog wash but I'm starting over with new Substrate, new test vials, and a different water conditioner. I just re set up the tank. He will give me some used gravel tomorrow and I'll update my results here.
Everyone has their own way I reckon, it'd be cool to see their reasoning for these beliefs, though, because they don't really make much sense to me.
Regarding Prime, I've seen hundreds of people who have used it or use it regularly with new and established tanks, as well as the company's claims, as well as personally using it off and on for years. Dechlorinators with ammonia binders could theoretically make it a little more difficult for nitrifiers to work, but I've never seen any actual data or trials leading to this conclusion. Even still, it's 'binding' effects only last up to 48 hours, so the effect is temporary.
That said, Prime is unnecessary in a tank without fish in it, just use a basic water conditioner (sodium thiosulfate) and rock on with it.
The test tube thing is also odd, I've mixed test tubes regularly, know plenty of other people who do, and API makes no statements or warnings that I know of regarding this, so I'd have to assume that this claim is not based in fact either.
A lot of old school LFS owners are like this though, they have their own methodology and many have not embraced the ease of information gathering and sharing with the internet era. Fishkeeping, especially pre-internet age, was rife with witchcraft and sorcery, magic potions and spells. It still is to some extent, but most people have become more educated in different aspects.
He could very well be giving you the best advice as he see's fit, but as to how accurate it is, ..eh.
The question that keeps ringing in my head is this: Did the guy happen to sell you all of the stuff that you 'need' to use rather than what you had already? I sense a trend here.
Restarting just set you back even more IMO, building the biofilm is a huge part of getting a tank established, so starting back from scratch shouldn't even be on the table. It's not that unusual to not see movement for 3-4 weeks, it does happen, and the reasoning is simple. pH fluctuations are somewhat common in newer cycling tanks, but if it's dropping into the 6's it can very well slow/stall the cycling process.
Either way I hope it works out for you, just try to be patient and let the tank do the work. I'm not a fan of fishless cycling for that reason alone, I like putting fish in the tank immediately,have never been given a good reason not to.