EF-SWL Antenna Trouble

I just installed my new EF-SWL Antenna and connected it to my JRC NRD-525. Reception was nearly dead. Signal strength came back to “normal” if I disconnected the outer sleeve of the PL-259 connector and just let the center conductor make contact. I tested the coax feed cable (about 50 ft.) for shorts (continuity) and found that the cable was fine but the outer sleeve and inner conductor of the SO239 connector on the antenna’s transformer showed continuity with nearly zero resistance. I don’t know if this is normal. The antenna is strung between two trees about 15 ft. high. There is about a 20 ft. ground wire running from the ground terminal on the transformer down the wall of the house to a cold water faucet. There are actually two ground terminals on the transformer for the shield side and the antenna side grounds. I tried the default configuration, where they are connected, and I tried grounding only the shield side. I also tried disconnecting the ground wire from the water faucet. No joy. Any help would be appreciated.