Jack, you mentioned the #2 cutter, but didn't say where it was made. The #3 came from Poland. Could you see a difference in quality of the cutters.
The reason I ask is I purchased several 48P cutters from Traverse and they all came from China. I was building Jerry Howells V-Twin at the time and had a bunch of small gears to cut. I couldn't get the gears to mesh worth a darn. I checked the cutters under a microscope and they had no involute form to them. They were horrible quality. I sent them back to Traverse and ordered a set from McMaster Carr. Just a few $'s more in cost. They came from Poland and were excellent cutters. I made all the gears over again and they worked fine.