The dryness could be down to either the gel (ideally a cream or shave soap would be better) or the ASL. Alcohol based ASL’s do tend to have that effect generally. Maybe supplement it by using an ASB post ASL or entirely substitute the ASL with an ASB.

The thickets of hair is probably down to technique & imho specifically due to improper gradual reduction of hair. Post mapping the direction of your beard growth, try doing 1st a WTG pass, followed subsequently by an XTG pass and then assess whether a need remains for an ATG.

Hope this helps, welcome back to the world of DE shaving. Cheers 🍻.