Need advice on really long fishless cycle. The problem - lack of nitrates

>2.  What kind of water test kit are you using?
>If all your ammonia has been turned to nitrite on repeat basis, while nitrite reading is not going up over the weeks, then it is very likely you indeed have nitrate but you are not getting an accurate reading for some reason. 

Thor:
You made my day!
It's a bit embarrassing but I did not perform NO3 test the right way - I did not shake the bottle with chemical #2 for 30 seconds. 
I repeated the test following the original procedure and now NO3 reading is 80 ppm! It's bright red!
Thank you very much for helping me correct my silly mistake