The recommendations are just a guideline. Each make is a bit different. You need to get a feel for when it’s right. Another thought: it could be that it was not sufficiently pressed to expel all the whey. Or you might increase the cook time so that your curd is a bit drier prior to the press. It’s going to take some trial and error until you come up with the solution. But it will be worth the effort. The vacuum will only pull out excessive whey. What is locked in the curd should stay there.
But then you mention dry cheese. I’ve had that problem a lot, especially with cheddar. I’ve made a lot of adjustments to the process, and now am getting nice moist cheese. I shortened the ripening time and the cook time, and lowered the temps for both ripening and cooking. Also, the milk I’m now using is much richer in cream. I have one drying right now. It’s been abut 30 hours, but it’s still not quite ready for sealing.