Was there a part II? What did the rest of the bottom box look like? I don't have experience dealing with wonky comb on foundation, but I'd probably cut that out and rubber band it into your foundationless frames. I'm not sure how to encourage them to accept the foundation though. Also, I'm not sure that a single popsicle stick is enough of a starter strip. Starter strips generally are the same length as the top bar, so that wherever they decide to start there is a strip, since they don't always start in the center of the frame.