No problem -- we're all here to help each other.

Can you see what it says the active ingredient is in the pH Minus? It might be Sodium Bisulfate which will add sulfate to your pool. Though that's not the best thing in the world, the amount is rather small since you won't use this all the time so I think it's OK to use this stuff and then in the future use Muriatic Acid (which is a liquid). However, Ben's technique for lowering TA usually takes quite a lot of acid, both for the initial lowering and for the continual adding and testing during aeration, so you might be better off getting the Muriatic Acid anyway.

I doubt that the high chlolrine level is causing the stinging of the eyes since you've got so much CYA to "hide" the disinfecting chlorine. Usually it isn't free chlorine that stings anyway -- it's usually a pH that is too low (maybe also if it's too high though I haven't heard that before) or its combined chlorine (CC). Your pH is a bit on the high side so that might be it, but it is possible of course that the chlorine levels are causing this (from the "bound" chlorine to CYA) and I'm just wrong.

Richard