Do all Rubber Tenor Links have a deep gouge after the initial rollov?
er?
Mine is a 7* modern (under 5 years old) one.  It was deader than a 
doornail.  I filled in the hole so that the baffle followed a nice 
line to the tone chamber. The difference was huge. It would be nice 
to find a good one without the hole and not have to fill it in.

> Do all Rubber Tenor Links have a deep gouge...

It is more pronounced in some.  You could also try getting a real 
closed tip HR Link and opening it up a lot.