Now I am thinking if I should do away with using <> operator because it always relies on SET EXACT ON and just use "==" in ALL my comparisons. What do you think?

Changing the setting of EXACT is a global solution to a local problem - never a good idea.

? cTest2 <> cTest1 && returns .F.

How about re-thinking it like this:

? NOT ( cTest1 == cTest2 )