I thought that too, but ruled it out. The behavior I described manifests itself only with the Erl clone - if the atty is changed it stops.The battery may be weak or in need of a charge. When you hit the fire button, if the voltage sags too much, the display will blink even with the display showing the correct readings.
@ Bill - I never thought the Cloupor was faulty; it works like a charm. But it was something unusual that got my attention.
Now, what could make the atty do that? It's a very cheap clone (only 9 bucks, FT) but it vapes great. I have no other qualms with it.