Since we’re talking about the Enhanced Applet, I have a heads up for you, but this isn’t something I’ve been able to reduce and verify.
Basically, I have an enhanced droplet that pauses before execution. I drop the files on the icon and nothing happens. Sometimes it just stalls until it times out, sometimes it pauses for 20 seconds or more and then continues normally. Also, it seems if I switch from the finder to another app that makes it run. The Apple droplet that it’s replacing executed immediately with no pauses. I’ll have to do some comparisons to eliminate other potential variables (I made a few changes, and I need to run identical script on both).
I’m only posting this now because it sounds like you’re working on the enhanced applet, and I’m not sure when I’ll have the time to tinker with this.