Yes a Phaser is at the opposite spectrum off a boost in difficulty however its nothing terribly difficult.
Check your off-board wiring. It sounds like an intermittent issue.
For example it looks like your ground and 9v could be making contact.
Also you should strip your wire and insert through the pad until flush with the PVC and then solder from the other side the same as a component lead on all wiring jobs and that will give you a stronger wire contact as well as prevent other issues down the road.

Once you have constant activated signal you will need to tweak the trimmer for the sweet spot.
After addressing all of that if you still have trouble you will most likely need to post FET and IC voltages according to the datasheet.
Here are another few areas of concern.

Check you do not have bad contacts or bridging on your power adapter.
Also with regard to the Jacks you should always have a strong mechanical connection between the wire and the lug before soldering.