This type of stripper is the fastest, easiest, and most consistent for "production" type stripping of small wire.
http://www.amazon.com/Irwin-Industr...352219387&sr=8-1&keywords=wire+stripping+tool
The only problem now is I have to see if upping the wire gauge will fix the issue because if it doesn't, I'll have to buy more drivers and I really don't want to do that...tick toc you know...times 'a wastin'...
I think that you have something going on other than wire gauge - that might make it dim, but it wouldn't completely fail to light. If you use your power supply in place of the driver, does it have an ammeter on it to see if you were getting any current flow? It sounds to me like one of the groups was reversed, but perhaps not.
I always go through and test each led with a pair of aa batteries in a little holder using extended connections. (test the wire and the led, from each far side, if you know what I mean)