RE: High voltage readings
Don, please don't be insulted by this question but are you sure you are not
reading the voltage at some point where the two batteries appear to be in
series?  That's about the only way I can think of that would give such
readings.  Did you check the alternator output, when running AT the
alternator?  I suppose that the regulator could be fried and the voltage
could be that high from the alternator.  And even though you checked the
meter against another I'd still suspect the meter.