You are kind of correct, it wasn't an Expertflyer problem. I didn't think it was when I posted, but if others find this thread I want them to be aware of what else could cause this. But it is an AA problem. It is not possible to have through availability in business from Tucson to London. Domestic on 99% of routes doesn't have J/C. And 772 doesn't have F/A.

In any case, I called back a couple hours later when I had more time, explained to the agent that the flight number was the same, and he had the fare department move this through. I had to pay another $4.50 in TSA fees as they manipulated the ticket to seem like a stopover.

AA needs to stop the fake direct flight manipulation. I knew when I booked the ticket this was likely to happen. I also was not able to list for a complimentary EXP upgrade on TUS-ORD when booking the flight. 5 hour layover and equipment change in no way = direct flight. I guess they've run out of flight numbers or something. I suspect my first agent was legacy US as I specifically asked her to check just the ORD-LHR segment and when she said no C I politely disengaged.