Thanks guys or sharing some of your experiences and knowledge. The different string sizes have me curious as to which is the best.I guess that question is answered in different ways depending on the player and the guitar.
 
  The nut on my electric guitar neck has the high E string closer to the edge than some others, to the point that I sometimes accidentally push it off the neck when fretting. I have even thought about either having the nut reworked or getting another neck. It isn't horrible but it can be annoying sometimes.
 I'm wondering if the heavier gauge on the high E might help to stop that problem?

 I wish they made a string variety pack, where is Santa when I need him?

Don't know if it'd solve your e string issue, but I usually find that the bigger the strings, the better the sound. 

I did switch from my regular set of slinky to hybrids recently - it was actually quite stunning to hear the difference it made, using all the same equipment. Plus, they seem to last me a bit longer.

If I had SRV's hands, I'd probably go for .13 to .52 like he did - but I don't so those hybrid (.9 to .46) give me a bigger sound on the lower hand and I can still band those b and e strings w/o breaking my fingers. I've tried .10 but I just couldn't play lead w/ those.

Bflat5
 
 Simply mix 50/50 WD40 and rubbing alcohol together and get a rag. Apply a little to the rag, just enough to wipe the strings down. Give it a few good swipes, then get a dry cloth and wipe it down again just to dry it off. 

Hm. WD40 and fretboards tend not to have a long and happy relationship. Rosewood boards generally need a light dose of lemon oil once in a while to stop them drying out too much (say spring and autumn), but WD40....no.


Isopropanol alone works fine for cleaning strings (just keep it off the board). The lubricant in WD40 gets everywhere and sinks into the wood. Over time, over-oiled wood goes mushy, loses it's grip on frets and markers and either goes soft or breaks apart.

Over the years I've replaced one or two fingerboards for people who, having diligently applied an industrial penetrating oil, designed to help free corroded fastenings and dispel surface water to bare wood, ended up giving me a substantial amount of money to sort the mess out. :-/ 

 Bflat5  I am playing on 10s now so maybe I'll try the 9s to see if they work better. I am thinking that it might be a quirk of this guitar though,as far as the other problem is concerned.

 Rain I tend to like sound of the larger strings on  hybrid sets I have bought :) Some of those will still allow me to go with a smaller gauge on the high strings like you say.

 If I can  clean the strings and make them sound like a new pair after several months then I am certainly liking that idea. OTOH I don't mind paying the cost of strings every month or so if it makes the kind of drastic difference in my tone that I just experienced. 

When it comes to strings, tuning and tension I think the biggest problem is in how I was putting my strings on. Incorrectly wrapped or over wrapped strings can cause all kinds of tuning problems( I found that out the hard way).I would put too many turns on the strings and then couldn't figure out why they kept coming out of tune.