Update:
Just finished making more Indonesian sticks.
A finer grind, seived, with a pinch of makko and tragacanth gum, but still incurred extrusion problems.
Made another batch with a pinch of makko and some guar gum.....bingo!!
Very smooth extrusion!!
So I did a side by side comparison....
took some tragacanth and some guar gum, added water, then put the goo in between my fingers so I can feel how slimy, and how sticky they get. They were both equally sticky, but the guar guam was very much more slimy/slippery.
Then I smelled the goo....
guar gum had a very mild neutral smell,
while the tragacanth gum smelled a little like smoked salmon
So I threw the tragacanth into the garbage.
Now I just have to find the ideal proportionn of guar gum.