I think the majority of your problem is the ecig you are using. Have you tried LR510 Atty's and direct dripping?
I started w/ a 510 2 years ago, and moved away from carts to DD'ing pretty quickly (Max Flavor)..
I recently bought a TW tank, and it SUCKED! Burnt taste, and even if it did wick good, reduced flavor. No wonder you can't find a flave you like! I went to the new Ego-C system, and the tank wicks much better on the new "C" Atty. BUT, I have some LR510 Atty's and DD for home use, the tank which for me get's 85% of the flavor through, I use when I'm mobile.
Ok im still somewhat illiterate to tech talk, so who makes these? and if I'm dd'ing i have to drip it everytime i hit it right? is flooding the atomizer a concern then? is this where you wad the cotton?