When I told him what I'd heard about the cut-off switches he laughed and said they do it all the time and crank the pressure up to 30 pounds and it holds it for hours with no issues. He said I obviously had a leak, but they'd find it and repair it.

It's naturally a T & M job. But, hey, it's only money. ;0(

p.s. From what I gather, natural gas is delivered to the house at 0.25 pounds per sq. in. The "test" in our area puts pressure 40 times normal on the system. I also understand that in California, the pressure test is even higher. Which makes sense, given California's proclivity for fires. (I kid, I kid).