For what it's worth, the book by Allen Rucker on The Sopranos states that Johnny Boy was a capo and 'a good earner for the DiMeo family.' But it, too, is vague about Hesch. In season 1, Tony tells Uncle Junior that "the Sopranos have been waiting a long time for the chair," so I'd have to agree with you dudes that Johnny Boy never quite made it. It's never explicitly stated by Hesch (or anyone else), but I'd always gotten the impression that Hesch wanted to give the appearance of just an associate of the Sopranos without the official title of consiglieri. But he definitely acts in the capacity as one. Maybe the one exception is where Junior taxes Hesch and Tony, Hesch, Junior, and Johnny Sacks (sp?) sit down together to reason it out. I figure if Hesch were Tony's true consiglieri, it wouldn't have gone down that way.
I wish Rucker's book had been more accurate. I've already spotted more than one mistake in there (e.g., giving Tony Sirico a film credit for Godfather II ), so I'm a little wary when I consult a faulty source for information.