[jerryhawthorne]

Guessing, protecting the caps from moisture. If you look at the caps when you take them out, they are cheap, no paper or wax covering. Others may have other ideas on the tar. From an assembly standpoint, it makes sense. Bring in a "brick" with a couple caps in it and connections on the top. Faster and no need for terminal strips to hang all that stuff off. For us, very nice, when you restuff them you don't see those ugly new caps you will see in other brands.
JMHO, Jerry