Thanks all
I have absolutely no interest in the original leaky hoses of the time when this machine was in its hay-day, but very much would love to have it completely restored by a professional to get it back to as mint condition as possible. I'm currently debating whether or not to purchase one off Ebay, but I think I'll let that be and maybe just get that super sexy 15 foot FilterQueen D31X hose 
Anyways, yeah I'll probably see if I can get ahold of pnluxconvlvr or Vacuumman.com and see what they can do. I already emailed both in extensive detail, so I hope to get a reply back soon.
Also Real1 - YES! My 1205 did the EXACT SAME THING! It's definitely an issue and NOT normal - if the suction feels weaker than it should, IT'S BECAUSE IT'S WEAKER THAN IT SHOULD BE! I also smelt a slight burning smell emanating from the vacuum too. The suction decreased dramatically after about 3-4 minutes of running, but when it was running, the suction WAS pretty fantastic - and absolutely INCREDIBLE given the relatively ultra low power these machines use.