Russ

I'm in the "no" camp as well, except to give up an electric kiln for a woodfired one, if it came with people to help chop wood and fire it.

Agreed - my experience, zircon based washes are way better. Most folks don’t even think about their old wash recipe after using A decent zircon product. Lee’s is zircon based I believe.

I love milled zircon-I use  some of it in my propriety salt wash formula

The Lees is so solid I can wash both sides and simply flip shelves as necessary to keep them straight. Wash stays on tight. Pricey though but great in a studio.

https://insight-live.com/insight/share.php?z=K5hHzDs2Kr
Ive started using this last year. Its a zircon based wash. I dont think ill ever go back to the alumina hydrate/epk wash

The market is super small for these

cstovin,    i had a similar problem with the replacement GIFF   I   N    GRIP years ago.  i found that i had not set it up properly, one of the rows of tiny, teeny, tiny grooves was off by one groove.
there is another problem i have seen with it, if you put it down on top of a bat pin, it will ride around like a tilt-a-whirl at an amusement park.    the cure for that is marking the wheel head with a sharpie once you have it set perfectly.   run a line down both sides of the bottom grips and use that line next time and forever after.
another tip is to put concentric circles on the grip to make the initial placement easier.   
i rarely used the taller posts, but noticed when i did that they must be seated FIRMLY in the slot before use.

Since you have had one work before with no issues-whats the differeance now-the wheel -the bat its on?? you or the GG?
whatever it is Its most likely operator related 
As I said get rid of the Bat (just another out of round issue) and try the setup again (aligned the grip feet to wheel head) like you do when its new. Start over and then see what happens. I have usaed one a a whisper before so Iknow its not the wheel.

This thread has brought up another interesting comparison that I don't doubt has been covered before.  The teaching/shared workspace environment and the solo studio.  Whether the solo studio is a production potter or someone like me who is something else, the focus and requirements just are not the same.   I can confidently say I've never needed to tap center and others can cry heresy.  I guess both are true.
The GG is the simplest, most durable, effective tool for the job.  IMO (as always)

Respectfully
Couldn't disagree more.  In our age, probably hundreds of skills are discarded every year in technology.  I don't know how many people drive a stick shift (as an example) or learned this year, but fewer all the time.  I guess all firing in your studio is not some kind of wood fire kiln, cause that's a skill probably none of have from start to finish.  Skills are only retained as long as they are useful, and then forgotten.  It takes me a lot longer to tap on center, because it's not a useful skill for me.  Otherwise it can only  become an object of affection for anachronistic purposes.

After 4 years of trimming I purchased a Griffin Gripp and love it. There are things I do not use it for but to me it is worth it. The tabs on the bottom can be finicky to get in the right place but it should  be tight on the wheel head and not on a bat. Look closely at the tab settings they are small to read and might need a magnifying glass. Make sure they are all set exactly  the same, don't give up on it yet and make it fit the wheel head correctly.
Only issue I have had is sometimes when I run the holders all the way in one of the holder jam or get out of line.

So I have always said learning to trim comes 1st as its a skill I use weekly -that saids my giffins save me time as a production potter. U still trim pots teh old ways as well depending on the form.That said triming 40 cereal bowls the giffin save about 1/2 the time.
so here are some suggestions take your grip apart and clean it-I lube mine with silcon spray once a year as it gets sticky and does not slide-spray the bottom piece not the top.
Make sure the setup is spot on and  set the grip up directly on the wheel head if you can. Spend the time getting it set up right so its dead on true and has no play.
Then it should slide  easy and the grips will work well.
I think its all in the setup (your issue)

I agree, the grip should be directly on the wheel head and tight.  It should run true.  If you put your finger on the rim and rotate the wheel, it should run true all the way around.  With the pot centered and tightened up, it should run true.  There should be no play between the 2 main pieces of the grip.  The choice of grabbers should be close to the top of the pot.
This is a bitchen tool, something is wrong that can be corrected.

Damper at the exit flue. Assuming the flue opening is the correct size, the full draft of the chimney is too much and you need to be able to damper it down. Otherwise too much heat goes out the stack, and you can't control the pressure in the kiln or secondary air draw.