The one thing strips do well is chlorine. With the Taylor kit, I don't have any issues as long as the free chlorine reading is under 3ppm, which it is almost always. Greater than three, its hard to read. I use the same method as Vinny to read combined chlorine. Shock time is when CC reaches .2 ppm. Try measuring that with the 2005 kit. With free chlorine at zero, any hint of pink while measuring total chlorine means its time to shock.