LenH:"Steep learning curve" is an understatement!!! ... LOL.
Springfield: Yes. Base finning is what I would call it, which a traditional lubrisizer (Lee,RCBS) would clean up.Tails of alloy left on the trailing edge of the boolit. The lube extends forward, toward the nose. Best case, there is a single "squirt", always with a tiny flek of alloy in it. Weird.
Re heat: I push the handle down far enough to operate the lube pump. When cold, the spring does not return the mechanism fully. I heat until the mechanism returns fully, ie, the lobe is softened enough to allow it to move inside the machine. I try a few boolits...unplug and continue. Either I get the "squirt" toward the nose( with the tiny flek of alloy in it), or the groove doesn't fill. Nothing in between. obviously, I'm monitoring the pressure all along the process.
The "squirt" is aligned with the open hole on the die. I wonder if, somehow, I damaged the hole, causing a burr on the inside of the die...??? But even so, lube still leaks toward the nose of the projectile on most attempts.