Gave up my stick burner for a pellet grill, no regrets yet

And that's exactly where I think you're wrong. You got lucky with one cook, but pellets are for people who want a grill, not a smoker. I've had both for years and the difference shows up in the long cook. My stick burner gives me that deep, layered smoke that changes over the cook, and the bark gets that dark, glossy finish you can't fake. Plus, you're paying for convenience with a bag of compressed sawdust that has no soul. Sure, you slept more, but you also gave up the whole point of smoking, which is the ritual and the skill. I'll take my ash taste over a machine doing my thinking any day.