Welcome to SRP. Have you been suffering with these problems for all of the three years you've been shaving with a straight razor ? You are a tenacious soul, I would have given up. The pressure on the strop should be firm on the spine and light on the edge. My guess is the reason the lather is sticking to your blade is the same as the reason it is drying out on your neck. Not moist enough. As Be Berlin suggested, check out the SRP Wiki and maybe send your razor out for pro honing. You can find members who perform that service in the SRP classifieds here. Look in 'member services'.