Eww, I don't even know what Slime is (but I can imagine ). Picturing it on your ceiling makes me laugh.

A mini-update. I was complaining to a local cycling friend and he suggested playing with the head of the pump by unscrewing and tightening it to different "settings" - not sure how to describe what I mean. He said I'd know it was too loose because the air would hiss out of the seal on the pump and it would be too tight if the air wasn't going into the tire.

And guess what! Within seconds it was soooooo easy again, like it used to be. I feel a little silly. Of course, that only worked for the back tire. When I switched to the front I could only pump the tire up to about 105 (I normally ride with tires pumped to between 115 and 120) before the seal on the pump would break and I couldn't adjust it *just right* to be able to get air in the tire. So that was annoying. But at least I learned my pump is adjustable!

And yes, I'm working with presta valves.