Looking forward to your progress.

When you did the nylon washer trick did you just add the washers or did you completely remove the heatsink assembly reapply the thermal compound and reassemble? I ask b/c my NB temps are not bad at 1.48v. Temps top out at around 49-51c under load. I'm thinking about simply adding the washers to see if the additional pressure will provide better contact and temps without removing the whole assembly.

Oh...if you are in LA NewEgg shipping is just one day away. Have you thought about the Xigmatek backplate? It may be a simpler solution.