papajoe222

I don't like T-rigging a tube as it kills that action that makes tubes such a great bait.  I use a 2/0 or 3/0 Gammy EWG hook and a bass casting sinker pushed into the nose of the tube. I run the hook point into the tube, through the eye of the sinker and out. I finish it up running the hook through the body and skin hooking it on the top of the tube. 
No need for any thing that you don't already carry, except the weights and they're inexpensive.

With my memory..............LOL?  I avoid this by checking to see if there is a star to the left of the heading indicating that I've responded to the thread already.

Those hooks appear to be in good shape. I'd sharpen 'em up before replacing them.  If you're intent on doing so, don't remove the hook hangars. Cut the eye of the existing trebles and use split rings and #2 trebles. If  they look like they will tangle, you may need to go with short shanks

Without seeing it, I would assume it is designed as a stand-up version. Some shakey head jigs are designed this way also.  The idea is for the jig to sit on the bottom with the flat side down and the hook in an upward position. This style is also good for dragging along the bottom, especially softer bottoms than the football head.
If the head and hook alignment are similar to a standard bass jig, then it is likely as you guessed, designed for skipping.

Likely, you purchased baits that the seller made himself. A lighter baits translates to less salt in the mix which means they will take longer to sink. Both these factors can be both positive and negative when it comes to catching, so the only way to find out is to fish them. I prefer a bait will less salt when T-rigging or drop shotting and a heavier bait when wacky rigging. 
Not trying them out will only result in your wasting money and I assume the reason you purchased them was to save it.  The best soft plastic bait I ever used was poured by a fellow in his garage. I got them for a song.  Now his company sells thousands and they are no where near as cheap.

A few degrees change in surface temp. during the summer shouldn't affect the fishing one way or another.  What will is the presence or lack of cloud cover and wind.  If either or both are present, you should expect fishing to be a litle better than it was under the bluebird skies of a cold front. Cold temps. over the past week don't always indicate a cold front and if fishing was decent during the week, the rise in temp. won't make much difference.

As I suspected, my gremlin must have been in a cheeky mood when I was reassembling this one.  I had the drag stack right, but the star washers weren't installed correctly, so the tension wasn't being applied correctly.  Oh well, I've probably cleaned and lubed a reel  hundreds of times. A 99% success rate is acceptable as long as that 1% is on my own equipment. Trouble is, I worked on quite a few reels that weren't mine this off season.  Guess I'll find out what my real (pun intended) performance rating is in a few weeks.