I know I told you guys to move the pistons closer to the pivot point but have you tried it with them not that close?
You really should be using the full extension of those pistons, we have the same cylinders as you and initially used the same solenoids so it's definitely possible. You may also want to decrease the angle between the pistons and the catapult if you want to avoid using a latch. I'll try to get some pictures of our shooter for you. Our shooter's resting angle is only several degrees below the horizontal and is ~60 degrees above the horizontal when fully extended and because it's nearly horizontal when it's resting the ball sits neatly on top and doesn't have to be held. We dominated with our shooter during qualifying matches finishing in 4th so it's a proven design, just requires some tweaking. Also you should avoid dry shooting like you did in that video like the plague. Good luck guys.