Glad to hear that things have improved! I don't know if this would make a difference to your problem, but I sometimes put a net on my thread cone to help control the thread and the way it winds.
I don't have a computer, I'm freehand only, and have floated all the tops so far. I just bought the ruler table, and hope to try it out on (my own) quilts sometime soon, so may consider the Texas bracket for future purchase. I've been reading a lot about pinning vs. floating though, and may have to peel the masking tape off the quilt top roller to try it sometime.