Steins Gate was that show for me. The first half is a slow burn no matter what audio you pick, and I swear I almost quit like 5 times. Tried both sub and dub and the drag in those early episodes hits the exact same way. The audio was never the issue, the pacing was.

Heard about this exact thing from an A&P buddy of mine who's been turning wrenches for 30 years. He said he did the same thing early in his career and learned the hard way that dielectric grease is an insulator by design, so it should never go between the mating surfaces. The trick he showed me is to put a tiny bit on the outside of the connection after it's tight, just to keep moisture and acid off the metal. He barely even uses a pea-sized amount for both terminals, and most of that ends up on his rag anyway. Honestly after hearing his story and reading yours, I just keep my terminals clean and dry now and check them at every oil change. Clean and tight beats greasy every time in my book.