So you are running , basically one bulb per ballast? What was the cost on the ballasts?

When I shortened my 8' fixture and put some 4-footers in it, they wouldn't ignite - it acted like the bulb was blown, you know the strobing type effect. a ripple of light kind randomly jumps around? When I plugged the bulbs back in a 4-footer they worked fine, so I need to do some research and see if I can use em