Pre-diabetic? consistently wake up with gluc level 98-110 despite going to bed with gluc levels 74-85? i'm not overweight. can this be "normal"?

No,not normal: Some of the world's best diabetologists advocate a fasting blood sugar of less than 90 as normal.ADA guideline is 100. Diabetics & pre diabetics can get the same complications. See a competent diabetologist.

Verify home readings: Home glucose monitoring can be an important part of controlling or monitoring diabetes for people known to have diabetes, but are not accurate enough at the borderline range to diagnose a mild elevation in blood glucose. Fasting blood glucose 100-125 is indeed borderline high, but would need to be verified with two separate lab tests. Fasting glucose, glucose tolerance test, and A1c qualify.