[en] The time scales for sawtooth repetition and heat pulse propagation are much longer (10's of msec) in the large tokamak TFTR than in previous, smaller tokamaks. This extended time scale coupled with more detailed diagnostics has led us to revisit the analysis of the heat pulse propagation as a method to determine the electron heat diffusivity, chi/sub e/, in the plasma. A combination of analytic and computer solutions of the electron heat diffusion equation are used to clarify previous work and develop new methods for determining chi/sub e/. Direct comparison of the predicted heat pulses with soft x-ray and ECE data indicates that the space-time evolution is diffusive. However, the chi/sub e/ determined from heat pulse propagation usually exceeds that determined from background plasma power balance considerations by a factor ranging from 2 to 10. Some hypotheses for resolving this discrepancy are discussed. 11 refs., 19 figs., 1 tab