The theory behind that, I suspect, was a belief that your mod didn't have enough power to heat the whole coil.
My suspicion is, if you took the same length of wire you have, and twist it tighter, around a smaller jig, you'd end up with more usable surface area..
I am guessing that by the time the outer part of the coil is warm, the inner wrap is scorching the wick.
You're on the right path though, and what works for me may not for you.
I still have a bad habbit of using wattage as a metaphoric sledge hammer to heat modern art.