Talk about counter intuitive,here is what happened this morning. Note that the cell 1 and cell 6 were initially (as removed from my old pack)the highest voltage, with 5,3,4,and 2 at progressively lower voltages. At the end of the fast charge they remained in that voltage order. The photo of the long rebalance showed all the cells really close.
The charging went several hours past the last photos,and I found that the cells that were at the lowest initial voltage had risen to the exact reverse order and they stayed in that order even during the during the discharge.
What does it mean?
Based on further cycles, the highest initial voltage may be the weaker cells?
If the weaker cells hold 4 Ah, and the better ones hold 6, the better ones will never get fully charged, and the weaker ones will get overcharged.
once the better cells are fully charged, in a topping operation, they will allow a fuller cycle for all, therefore erasing some of the weaker cells memory effect reduced capacity, and bringing them all into better balance.