Okay, it was at least partly the juice. I tried a DIY that I had made and it tasted great. Now, off to try the filler again.
Great! Once you have dry burned and dripped, getting a great taste out of the direct dripping, you know you have a good carto body that is just as good as the factory fresh carto. You are most of the way there. Now it's just a matter of getting the filler in properly and letting the juice re-wick and you'll be good to go. First one's always the hardest. I usually have 8 or 10 used cartos in a plastic bag waiting for their "open heart surgery" as I call it and do them all at once. Takes about an hour and a half and saves me 25-30 bucks. Retired on fixed income and all that.