xray - Thanks for the video!
...we are headed back there for Thanksgiving so I will probably try a few mods out. I might even spring for the baffle plates because he is a good brother in law. How long to install the baffle plates? Easy? Hard?
BTW - the experts that produced the videos I watched all had similar mods to what you had and all had to leave the fire-box door open an inch or so for the fire to be right...so I think your mods are sot-on!
The baffle plate install is super easy. The plate comes in two pieces plus the angle brackets. The brackets bolt to the plate and the plate butts up and bolts to the wall of the cook chamber.
When I get home from vacation tomorrow, I can take closer pictures of the mods and detail the process.