Yeah a buddy of mine tried the same thing and it just would not pick up the flint right either.

I've wasted way too many hours on one stupid checkbox I missed during setup.

Dang, sorry to hear about your Reds. It is scary when something you thought was fine turns out to be bad for them out of nowhere. That quick turnaround after switching to pine shows it was definitely the shavings.

Man, that's rough! I used to be one of those "feel it tight enough" guys for years. I thought torque wrenches were just for engine internals and stuff like that. But after a caliper bolt backed out on my own truck (scared the hell out of me on a mountain road), I totally changed my mind. Now I torque every single fastener on brakes and suspension, no exceptions. It takes an extra 5 minutes but it's worth it to not have that sinking feeling when something lets go. Those bolts see a lot of heat and vibration, so a click from the wrench gives me peace of mind every time.

So you paid $5,000 to learn how to lose evidence properly.