This is a great write up, but I have a question. I was putting one of these together and was applying the thermal compound and then I wondered what good it was doing. The electrical isolator is not a good heat conductor.

What were you using as an electrical isolator? Does it also conduct heat? I have a few heatsinks that I ordered from ebay for use on video chipsets. I think I'll just use some arctic alumina and glue one of those to the regulator. Will that suffice?