Marlin Flake can be a fickle mistress. The first time I tried it, it was fresh and tasted funky. I jarred it and put it away. I scored some aged Marlin Flake and for the way I smoke it, rubbed out in a dublin, it just hits the notes. So now I only smoke the aged stuff.
BUT here's the thing. Smoking cadence, body chemistry, pipe, moisture, age and packing can affect ANY tobacco. I've traded enough baccy that I can tell you this simple truth. Sometimes you hold'em and sometimes you trade them away. Just like pipes. I've traded pipes that I could not get to smoke correctly and the next person in line loves how it smokes.
Keep at it.