That "trusted my gut" part hit me hard. We all do it, especially when the machine is set up and everything looks fine from the cab. I had a similar thing on a warehouse job where one outrigger pad was on soft dirt and I didn't re-check the bubble after the crane groaned a little, ended up with the whole load list tilted by a few inches and had to redo every pick on the second day. The heat just makes it so much worse when you're out there re-slinging and every minute feels like an hour. Solidarity for sure, it's the small stuff that always eats the schedule.

Hot glue holds up fine for me if you rough the surface first.

Took me years to learn the same thing with kitchen knives. Finger on the spine gives control, wrapped around the handle gives power. Different jobs, same idea. We all spend years doing things the wrong way until some old guy shows us the light. Funny how that works.