get a hot plate to preheat and maintain your mold heat
you will wish you did
$15 from amazon
get a thermocouple to measure lead temperature or a PID control....lead temperature is a critical process control and the LEE dial is not precise or reliable
do not "dip the corner of the mold" into the pot as you may have seen suggested, this is a bad idea for multiple reasons (getting junk into the mold, including lead, being dangerous to do in a small pot, not heating the mold up enough, stirring up junk in the pot which will clog it, etc..etc..)
most of the middle of the sprue should remain liquid for a few seconds after you are done pouring..and thats the WHOLE sprue, not just the cavity furthest from the handle
check your lead smearing both on the underside of the sprue plate and on top of the mold halves after EACH pour..it should be minimal if any..if you see some, clean it off before proceeding with the next pour
if you notice ALOT of lead smearing and things are very shiny, and the sprue is taking a long time to solidify, things are too hot
be prepared to clean your mold. accidents and just normal non-perfect usage will get lead in between the mold halves and this will cause problems..I use a popsicle stick and strangely it works to push lead off the mold. copper wool might also work.
Do not assume your tools will do the job for you, they wont. The PROCESS is the critical element here and YOU are 75% of that. The LEE pot clogs easily and has poor temperature control, the mold is easily contaminated and needs awkward lubrication and inspection after each pour, everything needs to be in a certain window of temperature to work right (or you will get wrinked bullets or smeared bullet backs), and so forth...