So I tried the B deck and after some experimentation I've come to a couple conclusions.
First, no part of the wick can be touching the rim of the airflow tube. If it is, then it will leak. This is particularly difficult with the cotton that's coming out the side of the coil and down to the deck, but it's doable.
The cotton in the bottom of the base doesn't need to be all that fluffy. My best results so far have been with packing the cotton down especially around the juice holes. The build I have now I checked all 4 holes and made sure I could see cotton up against the side of the deck.
Right now I do have a build that's working quite well. The flavor is spot on and I've had no wicking issues. I'm using a 70vg blend and 7/6 wraps of 26ga kanthal. These are just what I've noticed so far after a few hours of playing with it. I still don't trust it entirely until I can leave it overnight off my mod and check it in the morning. YMMV