What is the ion beam lifetime, according to the DCCT and Schottky? 
Can somebody measure it, please? 
Yesterday we could not see a fast drop in the "main" beam. 

Because the lifetime that is mentioned here is the one based on the particle detector and on the PMT countrate. 
If what is seen now is "only" some fast decaying component inside the beam, we could simply wait for its decay and then continue with the real measurement.