A few more thoughts...
1) Test ELT's in the first 5 minutes of the UTC hour, irrespective of their primary operating frequency. (I just learned something new today. I work in the telecoms industry and discovered that 911 testing in one Canadian province can only be done at a specified time on one day of the week. Seems aviation isn't the only world where this kind of limitation exists.)
2) Yes, absolutely, the 406 test signal can be used to do end-to-end testing. I've given thought to subscribing to one of the web-based services for that very purpose.
3) 121.5 is still used for "homing", whether it's by airborne or foot search. The last notes I have from RTCA don't show any movement on inclusion of the 121.5 signal - it looks like it's here for quite a while to come.
4) The FCC "ban" is intended to limit the "primary" transmitting frequency of the ELT, not the secondary which is currently how the 121.5 signal is classified on 406MHz ELTs
5) Between 15 & 20 years ago I worked for a company which produced several working prototypes of man-pack 406MHz homing devices for use by ground searchers. Having seen the results of testing conducted on hidden 406 test beacons I can say with certainty that a 406 homing device not only is possible but should be widely developed for field deployment. The problem is that governments don't want to spend any $$ for new homing equipment. It's much easier for them to pass regulations which require rich airplane owners to re-equip!
