Problem balling tungsten when welding

[Rhino]

The electrode is well above .040. I'd venture to say it's 1/16 to 3/32. That variance is why I can't say whether the tip length is 2.5 or 3x the width. Looking up the parts list, it appears to be 3/32.
The only reason I mentioned the aluminum is that it was my only tig experience prior to yesterday. At the time the standard seemed to be using a balled electrode. Having never used a sharp electrode I didn't know if this was "normal". As a side note: The one drawback I'm seeing to the diversion so far is that I'm not aware if I can set polarity when running DC.

The tungsten came preinstalled, and there's a decent amount of drag when removing it so I would assume the fit is good. I will verify this evening. I may also try grinding a lower bevel onto it as a test.

You did mention the gas being responsible for cooling the tungsten. It may be that I have too much protrusion from the cup. I noticed the problem worsen when I pulled the electrode out further to get back into a corner more effectively. I'd guess that I'm at around 3/16 outside the cup currently.