Welcome to the board! Glad you are enjoying the smokes so far minus the lamb.
It could be a bit dry, the hickory. Really the only way to know is checking it with a tool (name escapes me right now). I get what you are getting with the maple, chunks of charcoal. And you mentioned the chip screen and ramp steps, so perhaps the hickory is dry.
For your brisket cook - what temp did you cook at and what was the internal temp when you pulled? A good way to go with brisket and pork butt for those long cooks, start checking from probe tenderness at 190*. Some cooks, you may go to 200, some you may not need to. Just depends on the piece of meat for that cook. You may read in books that brisket needs to be up in 203 range or so, but I think our smokin-in smokers cook differently and I’ve never had a brisket cook that high. Always 195-198 or so seems to be the jiggly and probe tender spot.
And, you will hear from others on the board here not to chase the box temp with another probe. I’ve never watched what the temp does, just set up my program and run with it. Unless you are meaning a remote temp tracker for the meat, that is always nice to have - especially if it’s an overnight cook!
We look forward to hearing more about your cooks! Enjoy!