pfinucan,
hi i don't know whats normal is as i have problems with some print going well and then the next ones are a mess.
but ... mine will run under gravity as the temp gets up to what i want. i then manually extrude a couple of times till is flowing well (filled back up)
and then go for it.
not sure what (if anything) special to do when finsihed a print.
but i don;t take the filament out or anything - just growl at it for making another crap print - turn off the light and grab a beer!
roger.
Prusa 'Explorer' (3dStuffMaker), GEN6, J-head Mk III-B, Bowden Extruder, Marlin 1.0.0 RC2, Repitier-Host V0.84 and Slic3r 0.9.8, PLA. Live at Victoria, Australia.