Please forgive my error....the main drain isn't capped....the drain cap just appears that way from above. It's just a slightly raised lid. After screwing around with the valves I've figured out I can use the main drain, the skimmer, or a combo of the 2. I can also adjust the amount of vac that creepy uses (Baracuda 3?). So the main drain works, which makes brushing and cleaning this thing up a bit easier.

Let me throw another question at you, in addition to my messed up chemistry. If the pool guys have been using tri-chlor tabs for a long time, and not adjusting the PH.....could this be why I have some "thin" spots on the marcite here and there?

Thank goodness I found this place/forum!