Seems kind of superficial to be talking about boat issues with all-hell getting ready to be unleashed on Florida. I did want to thank everyone for their ideas. I removed about two quarts of oil from each crank case, injected a quart of fresh oil into each pressure switch port (using a cheap drum pump) and poured a quart into each valve cover filler.
Both engines started within two seconds and had good pressure in two to three seconds.
no water leaks either!
Now I need to figure out why the starboard engine barely turns over on the house bank (1,250 amp hours and massive CCAs) but starts easily on the single Group 31 "start battery." And the port engine does exactly the opposite . . . cranking easily on the house bank and barely turning with the Group 31. I know for a fact all the connections and terminals are new and tight.