Happens to me with the wire mesh even with Grants vanilla custard,,,i use 28 gauge kanthal and 270 mesh...my wicks last about a week before they get real funky tasting..then i even wire brush them for a day or two just to get more life out of them..i use a z-atty pro with a provari regular size...1.5ohms set at 4.0 volts...for the first three or so days it's like amazing flavour..then it gets a bit muted after that depending how much i vape that day...i've heard that the stainless rope works better for that type of use..as i'ts non porous and can't really absorb that much juice...i use 70pg 30vg as well ..but if i used 100%vg it would gunk up a lot faster...so you're not alone in this process and i think it has to do with the juice as well[for instance chocolate would gunk up a lot faster than just clear juice,,,if you find a alternative route let us know...vape on fuckers vape on