Sorry if I missed an email. My email has become a gigantic trap net for spam, so unless I recognize your email addy I could easily miss it. Again, very sorry about that.
As for the shaft not pinging, it is likely the material and install technique that your repair guy used. Mine are high grade melamine threaded onto a 3/8-10 tenon, with no cap. I crank them on pretty tight with robo-grip pliers, so chance of air gaps is pretty nil. The tip glues directly to the wood. I also prefer hard tips, which accentuate the "ping" sound. The end result is a thin ferrule that pretty much adds nothing to the hit aside from deflection, but provides protection for the wood under it, as well as the aesthetics of a white ferrule.
I have noticed that different materials cause more or less deflection, but it's a minute difference that takes me going through several racks to gauge. Some more noticeable than others. Melamine has always seemed to be what I have been most comfortable with. The shaft wood itself is generally what determines the hit and sound. Of course if your new ferrule is capped or the guy changed it to the common 5/16-18 install technique, then yes the ferrule can most certainly change the hit & sound of the cue.
Some things to try are cutting the thickness of your tip down a bit. I personally prefer the side wall to be about the thickness of a nickel. Or possibly even change to a firmer tip, still cutting it down in thickness a bit. Having a big leather nipple on the end of your cue does nothing positive for your game. The idea is to have enough leather to hold chalk and add a buffer between the wood and the q-ball. Like anything else there is a window of optimism somewhere between too much tip & not enough tip. Not enough tip generally is when it's getting close to the ferrule, which results in a crack. Too much tip causes funny things like unpredictable spin, muffled sound, or in the case of hard tips an unnatural feel. You want comfort with a slight audible ping something like when you drive a golf ball. My best playing cues seem to ring on center ball hits, which become more of a tick on extreme spin.
Again, sorry if I missed your email. Hopefully this post helps point you in the right direction. If you can't get what you want then email me again & I'll do what I can. I will go in and see if I can find your other message so I can mark the addy as one I will recognize.
.
