Thanks for the input, and all the advice!

Just got back from getting the salt levels read - a whopping 4500 ppm. Yikes. I will definitely get one of the check at home kits.

Also talked to the local pool repair guy who does Hayward warranty work. He think it sounds like the cell, but that a nice acid bath might fix it, so that is in progress right now. If that doesn't fix it, I'll replace the cell. I'm going to stick with the Hayward stuff and not go aftermarket - too scared of crummy warranties!

If the salt is too high for the generator to work obviously I'll dump-and-replace water, but assuming the washed, or new, cell claims to be generating when everything is back together, is there any long term harm in having salt that high? The generator itself says it wants up to 3400 ppm, but yesterday (when it thought the level was too low) it claimed to be generating, as if the crazy high level wasn't preventing it from working.

Thanks again for all the help!

Alison