@Syzygies i posted this for Forrest on page 382 of the Everyday Misc thread but here is what I do. i think my pizzas are pretty good, crust never burned and has that "burnt/speckled" look on the bottom. I post a lot of my pizza cooks on that thread so you can check it out and see for yourself if my results look up to your standards (which i deeply respect), but i do use the drip pan for a heat deflector so not sure this is helpful. i've never tried it without it now that I think about it, but perhaps I will give it a try next time.
I got this recipe from @MacKenzie so credit goes to her but it’s pretty easy to make in a food processor.
https://www.seriouseats.com/basic-new-york-style-pizza-dough
Some of the things I’ve learned as I’ve gotten better at the crust is the following
1. weigh your dough ingredients, be exact
2. try to focus on getting even dough ball once removed from food processor, then slice that dough ball into 3 smaller ones
3. take your time trying to get the three smaller balls even, the better I do at this stage the more even the crust comes out when I cook it
4. Refrigerate dough minimum of 24 hours up to 72
5. Take dough out 3-4 hours before cooking
6. once removed smash down on ball with hand a few times to flatten
7. Then carry edges of dough in hands, let dough stretch as you turn it
8. roll with rolling pin to get it nice and thin and evenly spread
9. twist crust
10. brush crust with olive oil
11. sprinkle sea salt on crust
12. add sauce and spread thinly
13. Leave pizza stone in KK (at cooking temp) for at least 60 minutes prior to cooking
14. place pizza on parchment paper on KK
15. I cook my pizzas at 500-515
16. cook approximately 10 minutes each, rotating the pizza every 2-3 minutes as there’s always a hotter part of the Kk, remove parchment paper last 1-3 minutes
17. I use the double drip pan for indirect heat
pizza sauce recipe here (I double the amount of garlic)
https://www.budgetbytes.com/thick-rich-pizza-sauce/