Ender 3: PLA Jams Constantly

[YellowGTM]

A while ago, I took apart the printer due to a jam, and periodic mis-printing.

The epoxy/ceramic around the nozzle, and the Teflon wrap was chipped away and no longer part of the print head.

When removing the nylon tube, I didn't take note of the depth within the print head.Now I'm noticing the PLA gets jammed as shown in the image below, almost all of the time.

The distance of the tube between the nozzle has been adjusted between a 1/4" and completely touching.The bed to nozzle adjustment is one sheet of paper at all four corners (checked twice). Also used feeler gauges.

I've tried a higher bed to nozzle calibration thinking it was too tight .For whatever reason, the filament jams itself almost instantly, however when pre-heating the nozzle & bed, I can handfeed the PLA through the entire assembly and it exits with ease.

Where do I begin troubleshooting? Is the printer no longer able to print without the white epoxy and Teflon wrap (heat sink)?

Thank you.