Ok I bit the bullet and drilled my ESB kit. Some tips:
1. The grips are rock solid. That tape is STRONG. I drilled one, tapped it, inserted the screw, did the next. Never came close to overheating and loosening the tape.
2. If you need to remove and adjust a grip in Roman's kit, floss works. I still have one every so slightly wonky grip, but hey, it's an imperfect world.
3. The screws in Roman's ESB kit are 6-32. You'll need to drill with a #36 bit to tap them. Unless you're a masochist and want to fiddle with nuts.
4. If you mis-align the d-ring, making the holes in the Kobold bigger will give you the wiggle room you need to fix it (oops!)
5. I used ammonia fumes for one hour to age the pins, fyi.
And now I'm done clogging this thread up with stupid questions and random pics. It ain't perfect, but it's mine and I'm glad I drilled the freaking holes. Thanks again Roman!