Nah, better Combo: upthrust, downthrust, burst fire, wide sweep, quickreload -> downthrust, burst fire, wide..... repeatable for ever, until a) monster is dead b) monster ran away c) your weapon is dull (<- most likely this one)

Gunlance was an abused middle child for a number of years. It hit its lowest point/peak in Gen when they introduced a heat gauge intended to be a big buff to help it shore up its damage output. Instead it just made the lance even weaker.

Im slowly beginning to learn it because of its awesome move pool

I find a lot of people don't have the patience to use it, same problem with the Hunting Horn. It kind of makes them unique though.

it's slow, clunky, and has an awkward moveset. if you get past these facts, it's an awesome weapon to use, but in comparison to longsword, bow, or dual blades, using this weapon feels like slogging through mud.

No, it's just neutral damage

Shells deal True Damage, meaning they are unaffected by Monster Body Part multipliers. See the article on Attack Power for more info. "Blast" is a Status Effect and is only dealt by weapons that list it alongside their physical damage in the equipment info panel.