Take a look at this post, no wick in side channels, there's many others that use none. But the wad across the top, well that's a different story, it needs to be filled (not packed)It looks like you may need to pack those channels with more wick. I often use cotton yarn - two strands was leaking sometimes, and when I added a third strand, no more leaks. Looking at your pictures I don't think there is enough wick in the channels to create a seal when the wick is saturated. In my experience, if the saturated wick doesn't swell up against the wall of the mouthpiece, air can come into the tank via the mouthpiece canal and let your juice drain.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...c-116-without-moding-ceramic.html#post5126570