Did I damage my cartridge?

Zaikesman

I have read that you can clean them, I forget the specifics, the article was in one of my Audio magazines.

Zaikesman, Philjolet is correct. There is a tiny "instruction sheet" which tells a recommended way to clean the Zerodust, so it is usable indefinitely.
I still use Stylast, and have been lucky it has not created a problem for me. Maybe, the Zerodust gel disc which resembles a tiny round pillow, also collects any invisible Stylast residue after each playing, so Stylast does not build up and travel up the cantilever?

Well, It looks like I may have messed up. I pushed the stylus down in the pillow with light force. I most likely through something out of wack.

Scott,

You may indeed have bent/damaged the cantilever or suspension. Try to find someone with the same cartridge and get them to send or post a photo so you can compare cantilever angles. If it isn't obvious by now, NEVER apply more downforce to a cartridge than the maximum tracking force recommended by the manufacturer. :(

If it turns out the cantilever is okay, then here's another possibility. I used to use the ExtremePhono stylus cleaning gel, which is similar to the ZeroDust. If I let the gel get above the top of the cantilever tip, it would scoop some up like a little shovel. That stuff would then grab onto every piece of dirt it could find and hold onto it. I had to scrape it off the stylus/cantilever. Try inspecting the stylus area with a good magnifier. A detachable wide angle lens for a 35mm camera works well if you have one, film end of the lens toward the stylus.

In 'cleaning' my zerodust, it doesn't seem to be as sticky any more. What's up with that?

John