Guiding on the slit

I’m using phd2 for guiding on the slit(or at least ,trying to). I’m using Alpy with the guide module. So for starters, I’ve never been able to center the mirror in the asi 290 fov. Probably not a big deal,I still have good visualization of the slit. I read ricks procedure and compared it to phd. Apparently sticky lock must be set prior to calibration with the guide star(target) near the slit. Then after calibration you can use adjust lock ,which I saw from last night moves the crosshairs over the guiding (target) star. Do I have this right? Or anything to add?
The second issue is that bright stars like altair always show some shape distortion with added small reflections nearby. No matter how fast the exposure, when I use it as a guiding star,phd fails periodically, citing missing star mass. I’m using a new Gso RC 8 in ,and is perfectly collimated so I ruled that out. Do others have the same experience with Alpy? I’m going out again tonight so I’ll have more to add. Thanks john