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does the fact that I actually gain signal (on UHF) when I take power away from the pre-amp indicate that it is hurting rather than helping when powered (overload)
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That suggests that there is overloading taking place somewhere in the system. Excessive amplification is a common problem brought on by self-diagnosis, generality caused by the "mo' better" idea. If a little bit of amplification is good, then more is better. Doesn't work for medication, either, there are consequences.
One amplifier, if any are indeed needed, is usually sufficient if properly selected. Two are almost always one too many. There are isolated instances where a second amp is needed and are plenty of others where it does not harm or help reception.
TV signal meters that display only a percentage are not measuring power, they are measuring quality. The only important number on this scale is the one at which reception fails. Knowing that number and keeping the signals above it are all that is required, there is no need to chase numbers trying to get to 100%. As long as reception is unimpaired, the number is good enough.
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if I pull power from the dist. amp, I lose signal altogether.
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Now you've added another 30-40 dB of attenuation. As noted previously, removing power from an amp is not a valid test unless you actually need 20-40 dB of attenuation. Note that the 8-port amp is actually a 15-16 dB amp followed internally by an 8-port splitter. That splitter is expected to have 10-11 dB of insertion loss (attenuation) by itself which would be added to the attenuation of the un-powered internal amp.