In my experience using the button to clean the screen is ineffective once it gets proper gummed up. Pop it out, give it a torch and flick the crumbs off. It really is easy to get in and out, but a little unnerving the first time.
I have found that I can extract roughly finger broken bud perfectly well when necessary. The only thing that needs to be done differently is retamp the now expanded bud after the first hit. It does take some punch out of that first hit though.
How are you packing tombudster? I was getting charred edges and top when I didn't pack tight enough. I would agree that it takes around 10 seconds past the buzz to get heat soaked from cold. You can get around that by starting slow or not hitting the first heatup.