My foam insulation fell apart in my hand when getting to this Tx valve....
"makes contact with the block"... with the ' block valve body' or are you saying it should be touching the evaporator or something else ?

If it is wrapped with a good insulation.... I wonder if this interfers with the aerobic compensation provided through the pin hole?

Why does the pigtail have a hole in it ? Why would the diaphram need to be barometric pressure compensating to read the temperature ?

I realize that ice forms at other than 32 degrees sometimes... that that is based on a standard barometric day at a certain humidity...29.92.... etc.... but is this what the pin hole in the pig tail is supposed to be working with to control it that close at the bottom end ?