Hey John, it was basically the recipe in Caldwell's book pg 146, Soft, Fresh, Crumbly or Pressed - A Developed Acid and Heat Coagulated Cheese. In other words, a ricotta using a culture rather than vinegar, and using milk rather than whey.
I think what happened is that my new toy (Exstik 100) was not properly calibrated, and there was some user error. Or if I am being generous, I just was not yet used to it! I imagine the pH actually got below 5.3 given what happened with the introduction of heat. As mentioned, I was planning on heating to 180 as in the recipe, but the curd all glommed together and started stretching like pasta filata cheese. So I lifted the spoon repeatedly, going for a stretch, and then transferred the mass to the basket mold. I turned it a couple of times to help it drain.
It was good on the pizza!