I have 2 Lee Pro 1000's. One for .38spc and the other for .45ACP. Before someone asks, it was a good deal, but I had to buy both. Besides they were already setup for what I needed.
I had similar issues with the priming function on the press. Very frustrating and wasted a lot of powder when the powder drops and there's no primer.
Anyway, I never could get it to function correctly and consistently, so I read about how someone broke up the steps needed. And now I can crank out bullets with very few issues.
First, I bought an additional turret, they are like $10-15 on Ebay. Installed just the sizing/deprime die on it. The other turret has the expander/powder drop and seater die on it.
After cleaning the brass. I run them through the only the sizing/deprime die. This goes fairly quick.
Next, I hand prime the cases using a RCBS Universal hand primer, costs around $70 on Amazon. I also load rifle rounds, so this works for everything I shoot. This goes fairly quickly also, and I can inspect the fit as I do it.
Then I switch out the turrets and run the primed cases through the expander/powder, and seater dies.
It may take me a little longer than using a Dillon. But, after making over 4000 rounds this way, I have not had any major malfunctions and very little wasted powder. And my frustration level is very low.