So I think I mostly figured out the misty hits. I forgot that I had closed the airflow up some when playing around with it after the first tank. So I opened it up, and it's not so misty now, less popping, and I think the flavor is slightly better now. I knew it had to be user error since it worked fine the first build/tank. I'm glad I can stop fooling around with wicks and coils as I think they were all fine (well mostly all fine since the cotton yarn didn't work as well, using cotton balls just fine now). It's still a little more misty than I prefer, maybe I'll take the screw all the way out. But I think it's pretty airy as is (which is why I had closed it up some before)
I think the height of the coil above the air hole makes a difference in how saturated the vapor is. Low, very close to the airhole, seems very saturated, almost wet feeling. Having the coil higher above the airhole makes the vapor seem dryer.