Yup Mike, that is exactly what mine was doing, when it was not totally blocking the airflow it would start, and I am guessing the tip would spin inside there, because my motor ran so erratic, then on occasion I am guessing it got stuck while open, then the car would run fine.
It made it hard to diagnose my issue, because I never imagined that could happen.

I super-glued my tip back on as well, but in a few weeks it came loose again, so I discarded it, and the car ran fine, it really seemed like the tip made very little difference.
By the way, nice job cleaning the MAF, it looks a lot better!

I ended up selling the Buick today on Craigslist. I just wanted to thank everyone for their help and advice over the last couple years to get the car running well and bringing it back from the dead twice. Had the car for 9 years (entire life within family) and its sad to see it go.

To finish off the thread, the MAF sensor cleaning worked very well and the super-glue fix held up fine. Car idles a lot better and got around 18 mpg on mostly street driving with the occasional lead foot.