Yea, I' ve had trouble contacting them in the past myself. I had sent some emails and faxes yet never received a response. Makes you wonder how some of these places stay in business?

Your suggestion about the string pressure actually rings true. For the past couple of weeks I have been wondering if I might be torquing the string by cocking my ring finger to the outside. This afternoon I worked on rotating my wrist so the heel of my hand is closer to my face. That is one plus to a tab, it has a tendency to bring improper finger placement on the string to your attention.