Well, I cleaned the Kabuki (in Vodka), and air-dried, reassembled, and,at first I thought "yeah, you killed it a month ago," but after a little fiddling, the allen key engaged the airflow control hole, and it would turn, both ways again (which it hadn't been able to do for the last month). Airflow has increased quite a bit. I can actually "hear" the airflow, which I couldn't hear until a few minutes after cleaning and drying.
Happy camper! Thanks to all for the welcomes, and the suggestion re: vodka/alcohol cleaning. I was a bit skeptical, after the cleaning process because there was no visible gunk or anything like that, but, the airflow is back, and that, as they say... is that!