I just have to say wow. I used the Stubbs charcoal and can't believe the difference. Made a chicken with Stubbs and it was amazing. Far less charcoal taste. It had he perfect amount of smokiness and the skin came out fantastic. So glad I found this forum and got the advice. Being Stubbs is more money I will use it for poultry only. Kingsford does fine for other meats in my opinion.
Great to hear you got that fixed! And - play with different charcoals. Get a small bag of whatever brand you see out there that interests you - and take notes to refer to later. A cooking journal can be worth the moon.
And - FWIW - i like my lump charcoal the best. And I think there are better brands than others in lump charcoal as well. And lump will burn cleaner and hotter than briquettes - but not as long as briquettes. But in any case- enjoy the experimenting.