[MetalMan]

From my experience the tabs are fine, except for the one skinny tab in the pack that was meant to act like a fuse. All of my A123 cells came from Dewalt packs and for the majority of them I cut the tabs apart, and soldered the cells together using the tabs.

If you pull the tabs off, you have to be careful not to remove aluminum chunks from the cells. And when the tabs are off, if you solder them you have to use aluminum solder. Those who have dealt with it know why it's not fun, especially with that many cells.