Did you wash them first? Mine smelled pretty rough out of the package so I ran them through the dishwasher before any food touched them, and that seemed to kill most of the smell. That said, 400 degrees is pushing it for some of those cheap silicone liners, they might be rated lower than you'd expect. Honestly foil is free and never tastes like a tire, so you're not really losing anything here.

Ever had a ranger save your butt while you stood there feeling like a total idiot?

Man I used to pull slow and steady too because some old timer told me that was the "feel" you needed to develop. Took me way longer than 3 months to figure out he was full of it. Once you understand that a slow pull lets the wrench creep up on the spring instead of snapping over clean, it makes total sense why you get false clicks. That warm up click trick on a scrap bolt is smart, gonna steal that one.