I have had similar problems with my 510. I drip exclusively with my 510, I don't mess around with trying to fill carts or any mods or anything (yet). The battery life *can* be an issue, but since I have 2 batteries and a PCC it never causes me any grief. The second battery is always charged when I need to switch.
I can't help you with the flavor issue, I find all juice flavors (that I've tried) to be subtle at best. I don't vape for the flavor, I vape to stay away from analogs and it's the nicotine, the vapor and the habit that I value most.
That being said, I NEVER drip more than 1 drop on a 510 atty. You just can't, it floods and then it's worthless until you blow it out. When I blow out my atty because it's flooded, I always dab it on a napkin or tissue to grab the juice out, otherwise it doesn't come out.
Dripping 1 drop at a time could be considered a pain in the .... for some people. It doesn't last more than 4 or 5 drags so this is inconvienient when driving or at other times when it's hard to stop and drip again and again. But for me it works, it might not for you.
At first it wasn't clear to me when the drop was finished because it continued to produce alot of vapor, but the flavor and the throat hit disappeared. I usually take a couple puffs once the flavor and throat hit are gone just to make sure the atty is dry enough to accept another drop. Once every couple days I screw up, flood the atty and have to blow it out. After I blow it out, I always puff it a bit before adding another drop.
The other thing I usually do, is I leave off the cartridge most of the time when I'm vaping (called tailpiping). The main reason I do this is it allows the atty to cool off faster in between puffs which allows for faster vaping.
oh and re: the neti pot...I saw a demonstation of that on Martha Stewart the other day and now I totally wanna use one!! I have problems with my sinuses anyways and I think that would really help.