Someone here apparently nudged Apollo because I got a call from Jason the very day I posted my grievance here.
Thank you very much! Appreciate it!
What a group!
While I haven't had a chance to call back yet, I do appreciate whomever did the nudging.
As to my problem - from reading stuff posted by various folks here I have come to the following conclusions.
It is most likely that the problem is the result of my not changing the needle along with the tip. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to test this theory because I got sidetracked on other stuff. This weekend, I hope.
Additionally, I guess a novice isn't likely to buy this model so perhaps the instructions are geared more for an experience user. I tend to buy the best I can (within my "needs" - e.g. I don't need the multiple gun models) and not have to spend money twice.
Anyway, I've learned a lot, most of which I probably should've looked up/into before. But, an opportunity arose to test out the gun and I decided to go for it. Ah well.
Thanks for all the enlightenment, folks!
Renata