Just an update, this cheese is doing fantabulous. It's still in the brine until Saturday, but no cracks, still one solid mass, nice tight curd knit. I'll post pics when it comes out of the brine.
I'm starting to take different kinds of notes in my recipe sheets. Such as how much whey got expelled at different stages, so if a new batch is not releasing enough I can look back and see if that's normal or maybe I drained too much or not enough. I always press with the same regiment so that's not an issue. Also I take close up high res pics every few days of all my cheese when I go to turn them so if I see a surface defect I can go back and see if it was always there. I love digital cameras, no cost no matter how many pics you take. I'm also taking notes on my aging procedures. So after a few weeks I'll be sure on how to air dry without getting cracks or excess whey during aging.