Bought a chain frm eBay... took it to a kiosk and said it was fake... took it to a jeweler and they said it was real... it is stamped 925 and italy and also has a cut in one of the links and is the same color all the way through... does this sound real and is there a way besides the nitric acid test to check if it is real?

Hallmarks can be fake and there are white metals that go all the way through, so nitric acid is the only way I know of. But I feel that I can tell the difference by appearance, even if it's tarnished. You could buy a jar of silver cleaner liquid (at any Walmart etc) and dip it for 2 seconds. That might help, but there are a lot of alloys (Tibetan, Mexican, etc) that contain no silver. They look almost too white and are too light. 'White metal' a cheap and heavy allow used in all sorts of objects from jewelry to lamp bases has a dull appearance. Put your chain next to some silver you know is sterling and peer at it and weigh it.
Another thing about hallmarks is that they might be real but just be on the clasp which has been added to a fake chain. That happened to me once on an eBay purchase.