Even though everything you have done seems to have confirmed (seemingly 'beyond doubt') that the meter is telling the truth (even with new batteries), if it were me, before I started even thinking about the nightmare situation that you could be facing, I think I would probably want to see that a different meter gave the same results.Not what I want to hear, nightmare. Strange how all reels have produced same result, im stuck with what to do now.
Kind Regards, John