Glad you got such a fast response. Yeah, dead coil...it happens. Twice to me so far. I can't say I'm not just waiting for it to re-occur....anytime I don't see the glow immediately I start to worry!
But the service is great, you'll be enjoying a new FF in no time I'm sure.
Since it isn't designed to be user-adjustable (hence the whole "voided warranty" state when you open the top plate) there's never been any published specs about the exact right positioning of the coil.
I gather that not all coils work to spec in the exact same position, and that they do temperature testing to ensure it's in the optimal position. I would think touching the ceramic side is a bad thing, but then again, perhaps for some units, that's exactly where it should be.
BTW you not only are risking a voided warranty by moving the coil around, you're also in danger of having that fucker just snap right off on you...it's happened to a couple of other users (pages and pages back). The wire that connects the coil to the circuit board is quite stiff, but it also apparently can only suffer so much stress before breaking. And then for sure your FF will be running too cool.