[EricS]

I replaced the dial lamp, restrung the dial cord, and put the chassis back in the cabinet. With fingers crossed, I fired it up for the first time. All of the tubes light up, the 7B7 IF tube is the most dim, almost can't see the glow from it.

Lots of motorboating through the speaker. I was able to tune in one weak station and hear recognizable words, but that was about it. The frequency of the motorboating noise changes with the tuning. Ran through the tuning push buttons and the AM, SW, and police bands. More of the same- sounded like a bad soundtrack to a 50's sci-fi flick.

Does this indicate that the next step is to perform an alignment that I've heard other people mention?

Little by little...