Follow-up... working great now. Using KGD, I cut the sheet in perpendicular to the grain. I take one of the half sheets and separate the "rougher" portion on either side, leaving the thin fluffy stuff in the middle. I then cut the wick with the grain, slightly over the size of my coil inner diameter. I spin one end to make it easy to pull through. Pull it through, very little resistance, if any. Use the rabbit ear method, trim just above the top of the lower chimney section, then stuff down inside, making sure juice channels are clear. Juice it up, then make my bridges using Willie's method and juice those up well too. Lubricate all seals, spin the glass around on the two white seals, and also spin the top chimney o-ring on to the top (without the glass) a few times to get that section lubricated up. I then put it all together, tighten it all up and fill, leaving a nice size bubble/not filling all the way.
This is giving me far more vapor, allowing me to bump my wattage up, and surprisingly allowing bit more air on the draw. No hint of leaking.