I feel the same way.
Try the slug mod by eclipse (who modified other auto-drip mods). I'm using this now. Its easy and you can get a LOT of perfect hits out of a single cart. The wicking of the original filler is not good, and this is why you are getting only a few good hits before The Bad Taste happens and you have to top off. I got some improvement with the straw addition to the original filler, then more improvement by using disposable facial sponge with straw. I will be getting some blue foam soon, but using the disposable facial sponge as the slug with the large straw mod is VERY good! You can get about 50 hits from a cart, and you don't waste so much fluid trapped in a non-wicking filler. Definite and large improvement to the stock setup.