If I remember correctly, launching on a high pressure PP will make both the master and the slave fail prematurely.

Ive been in the same boat for the past two years or so. I found that pre loading the system with an extended slave rod it kills slaves like crazy (Yet still works like you probably already know). From my personal experiences shimming the pivot ball has worked the best for me (even with a new fork/ball). And next time my slave takes a crap im going to try to find one off a galant vr4 apparently they have a smaller bore so it will extend more without the need for an extended rod. I hope this is of some help, and i feel your pain.