Was the surface totally clean before you stuck it on? Any tiny bit of dirt or grease and that static stuff won't hold at all.

Have you ever noticed how kids do this with everything, not just games? My nephew asked me once why I always park in the same spot at the store even when it is far from the door, and I honestly did not have a good answer. We get stuck in these loops as adults and we call it being focused or dedicated when really it is just us refusing to quit. The kid was right, if you are not having fun then what is the point of playing at all? It took a second grader to see what two grown men could not.

Honestly I used to think those leaf blower rigs were hack trash until my buddy convinced me to try it on a brass run last month. We had the same stringy chip problem and the factory vacuum was choking every 20 minutes. Taped a little 12v blower to the side vent like you said and it ran 10 hours without a single jam. I even left the setup on for the next job because it just works better.