I emptied the tank, removed the coil, disassembled the coil, rinsed all of the parts including the wicks, and allowed them to dry for a few hours. During that time I put in a different coil (also new) and had the same exact problem. It seems to me that the drip tip is hugging the rubber sleeve and tightening/loosening it much more in this tank than my other one, so I have to loosen the coil slightly and screw the tip on extremely carefully. If I fully tighten the coil, then the tip makes it too tight. When I unscrew the tip it pretty much completely unscrews the coil. I don't have this issue with my purple tank at all. I did not see any burn marks or blemishes on the wicks for either coil I tested. And no damage or dirt on the coils themselves. So I have absolutely no clue why this particular tank is giving me a burnt taste. :/ Going to keep fiddling with it, but if nothing works I'm going to call Halo for a replacement tank because this one is brand spankin' new.