Nice follow up on the lines. I tried the PCT for a while, but it was not for me. When I am up before sunrise I want an easy trip to get the food. I wrap my line around a close by tree about two or three times so that the knot I tie will not tighten. That way it is easy to get down. For some reason the PCT was just too involved -bags, rock hunting, biners, trying to remember how to do it, trying to get the darn thing back down, ect... I just tie a stick to the masons twine and sling it over a limb- never fails. I have to be ready to pull the line so that the swinging stick never gets within 8 feet of the ground or else my dog grabs it and we have a ferocious tug war battle before I can get it back. I usally try to get the line ready while he is off snooping around, but as soon as he sees me with the line in hand he comes over to get in on the action.
The main advancement I have ever made to the line is to butterfly it on my hand- when it is butterflied there is never any tangling. Not sure where I picked the trick up, but it sure does save a massive amount of frustration.