Awesome, alank2. You can probably dry your current paste out a bit, and carry on using it. Still, it would be nice to have a fresh tube around. (You know, just to eat up its shelf life
![Tongue :P](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/tongue.gif)
)
mjkuwp, your efforts were probably worthwhile. If nothing else the insulation will effectively help to even the heat distribution in the oven body.
It is nice to be able to jump to your peak (air) temp right when you hit liquidus, but heating is generally less of a concern in hobby ovens, compared to cooling. Cooling rate, meaning everything after the "peak dwell" period down to liquidus point, is going to determine the internal structure of the solder joint. Cooling too quickly/slowly may lead to cracked joints down the road, especially on devices "gettin through dem thermal cycles". (rapid and/or extensive thermal cycling.) Of course, this is all assuming you've met a profile that doesn't cook anything to begin with.
Also, I made a post a bit further up with some links that may warrant a second glance. I've had to go back over them a few times in working on my oven (in slow progress), but there have been a few questions asked here since (board vs air temp, &c.) that are at least partially covered.
P.S.: I am a bit jealous of your controller UI, mjkuwp.