Yes, as is usually the case, owning a great mount is the beginning of awesome images, although I think a lot of the time people assume that if you spend big dollars on the mount that you'll get great stars from day one... I have seen the setup and configuration of a Paramount, I can tell you now that quite a bit of work goes into achieving round stars with a paramount, despite their ability to take 10 minute unguided exposures once the configuration has been properly attended too...
Sounds like you've done the hard yards to get to this point, however your efforts have not gone unrewarded! I too have recently gone to great lengths to address all the issues with my setup, and now regularly run 20~30 minute exposures without effort.. My biggest problem was my adjustable guide scope rings... Its of my opinion that adjustable guide rings were designed by satan in an effort to make astro-photographers cry. I now have my guides scope bolted directly to a dovetail by its L bracket, and since doing so I've been able to achieve very good results... All that I have left to address now is focusing... Im just too lazy to stand up and adjust focus, so its time for a motorized option..
