Well, I did kill a week old one, but I may have run out of juice right before it died. My bad, possibly.
I went through some of the carts I was using and boiled them out, to clear the juice and see what the damage was.
I could see specific areas that had burnt, usually these were around the center of the fuzz (I had put a couple drops on top) and on the opposite side of the hole. Also if the element is closer to one side (the tube isn't in the center) the side with the thin fluff was burnt.
The stuff wicks really fast, so most of the fluff gets wet pretty quickly, I think after vaping it at high volts, the defecit fluff is burning, which is what I may be experiencing.
I am gonna try the swiss cheese method, and will also try it when I can get some standard 18650s or Cr123s rather than the high drains I've been using.