You mentioned you should have weaved Ed. I hardly ever run a bead with stick mig or tig where I don't weave. Now you have something else to master. Actually weaving the weld smooths the bead right out. When your joining different thicknesses hold the arc a little longer on the heavy metal side of the weave and just draw the arc to the lighter metal. This way you'll get good penetration on both parts without blowing through the lighter metal.
Probably not proper technique but I bring the mig in close to where I want to start the weld then just tap the trigger, the brief arc lights the area up so you can position yourself exactly where you want to start the weld and see to adjust your stick out. The wire burns back to give you room to start and stays hot enough to illuminate the area for a second or so.