These questions are somewhat interrelated. All of my flipper strengths are set to factory default, and all the ramps are quite makable. The Beer Barrel ramp shot is a tough one from a fast moving ball (e.g. orbit shot)... much easier from a MagNab. The sweet spot for the ramp is pretty close to the tip of the UR flipper.

As for catching the ball with MagNab... first off, are your magnets are generally working as far as you know? Want to make sure there's no concern of a physical/electrical problem. If it's just a question of difficulty... biggest tip I can give is that you don't have to (and shouldn't) perfectly time the MagNab button with the ball passing over the physical magnet. The magnets stay energized for a couple seconds after you hit the button, so if you want to MagNab the ball, hit the button *before* the ball approaches the magnet you want to Nab with. So for example, if you just shot the left orbit and want to Nab at the top lanes, hit the MagNab button when the ball is, say, behind Otto. If you want to Nab at the UR flipper, hit the MagNab button as the ball passes the TAP lanes and is dropping into the "downhill" part of the right orbit. Same hints apply in the opposite direction if you want to Nab after a shot up the right orbit, though I find these to be a little harder because of the geometry.

Hope this helps!

It’s probably not software.

Use Switch Test and drop a ball into the tent scoop, and verify that switch triggers in the test. Also use Coil Test to confirm that the coil works properly to eject the ball.