As long as your cotton is nice and fluffy before dragging it through your coil(don't compress it) and you can pull it back and forth through the coil reasonably easy you should be good and this will count out the possibility that you've choked the cotton by overfilling the coil.
Also, i wouldn't go compressing your tails and try to get them into the holes while they are wet as that could possibly slow down the wicking, i don't think cotton can open back up like a wet sponge can.
You could possibly use the bottom post holes to mount your coil, this would get you closer to the juice and give you slightly shorter wick tails, might be worth a shot plus you may get better flavour as your coil will be even lower compared to the airslot.
Rayon wick is another option, wicks fast!
Other options you have for the longer pulls are to either raise your coil id or reduce your power but then you compromise flavour.
I bet a 3 strand braid of 32g would work nice! they are super responsive, give tonnes of flavour and are good for longish pulls.