Also, fwiw, I did some reading in
Amazon.com: Troubleshooting & Repairing Consumer Electronics Without a Schematic: Homer Davidson, Homer Davidson: Books
about transistor testing.
In addition to the diode test, you can:
1. Test Vbe - should be 0.6V for NPN and 0.3V for PNP ; incorrect reading means bad transistor
2. Diode test across C and E -- very low reading means leaky transistor
3. Test Vc, Ve, and Vb relative to common ground -- in an NPN, Vc is highest, Vb next, and Ve lowest. In an NPN Ve is highest, then Vb, and Vc is lowest. Low NPN collector (or low PNP emitter?) voltage could mean leaky transistor; Higher than normal NPN collector (or PNP emitter?) voltage could mean open transistor; close voltages between C, E, B could mean leaky transistor
Michael