Another question, when you pull the cable like the bowstring, and you are pedaling with the bike on a stand or flipped over, does the front derailleur actually move and possibly shift?

What you would be doing is using your fingers to pull the cable like the shifter would normally be doing. You want to see if the front derailleur shifts normally.

And when the shifter is at 1, is there any slack at all in the cable? There should be very little slack.