[DEDon]

Today, I disconnected the temporary antenna down-lead, re-routed it into a gable vent near the antenna and through the attic, adding a preamp in that run, and out through a whole drilled into the side of the house at the other end of the attic and down the corner of the house and into the basement to the slitters. Everything worked well. In fact, with the addition of the suggested preamp, I realized an improvement in signal strength and consequently picked up three more channels that I didn't realize that I wasn't getting. Signal strength, measured on my Big Screen TV meter actually increased on most stations.
I called Comcast and discontinued TV service, all together. Thanks to everyone that contributed!