Yeah,

I don't have a lot of time on my Everlast machine either, but have gotten into the habit that Rambozo mentions, of touching the work with the tungsten and lifting to the ideal gap before starting, which does often seem to discharge a slight bit.

Otherwise, if you're going down to 35 amps with 15 cf of gas flow, especially with a necked-down cup and no gas lens, you'll have tougher arc starts, I'm pretty sure. A #7 cup and less gas flow at the lower amps will probably help.