Wow, I rushed too but slow steps make sense now.

Yeah, shane327 has it right with that charcoal chimney on the side... I fought the same fight for so long. My fire would just die out and I'd be stuck waiting for a recovery. Now I keep that little chimney going and add a small scoop of fresh hot coals about every hour. It's not perfect but it stops those big scary drops... lets me relax a little instead of babysitting the temp every five minutes.