Hey Mike- don't know about those holes..... somewhere in front of stove is air intake- don't believe they have changed the air path that radically in that stove, as they still use the central sec air tube and brick baffle. Ok on the damper movement, that sounds ok. This stove is confusing, wished I was there to look at it.
I don't see any holes on the outside of the front of the stove, period, with the exception of the ones in the ash pan area as the pic above shows. I went to the store the previous owner purchased it from and asked a whole bunch of questions. The deal in mostly Jotul and PE but they are a dealer for Enviro. Funny thing is they said in the last 15 years since the salesman worked there they only sold ONE Enviro wood stove and it was a special order. Turns out it was mine! So, their knowledge base is lacking big time. Just for curiousity I purchased some more bricks to replace the broken ones and line the ceiling of the firebox with a 2nd layer again as per the manual to see what difference it makes again now that it's cleaned well. Observation: worst air flow, smoke still bellows out, even some flame came out this time When I light the fire now, I have to keep the ashpan open longer to get the fire going but now I can remove the pan all the way and it won't build up to a roar like it does with one layer of ceiling bricks, so that tells me the flow of air is now choked off more and the draft is as well. Now the damper from closed to open makes less of the change. With the fire as big as I can make it after 30 mins running, add some fresh dry wood, let it build some more for 5-10 mins, close the ash pan, damper open, it dulls down to a mild flame. Even open all the way and a steady but low flame built up the highest I can get the burn indicator is at the bottom of the burn zone at 275F... So, it's a step backwards with the 2nd brick layer in the ceiling