hi, @MarkAM Check whether the extrusion motor can work normally; Check out clip is loose or broken, please refer to this video and check if there are any parts damaged or broken: https://youtu.be/Yg9ldgHybb0 If the issue still exists, please send an email to cs@creality.com and attach the pictures and videos in details. There will be the professional to help you.

From the picture belongs to the print midway plug, extrusion is not enough 1, check whether the normal rotation of the axial fan of the nozzle 2, printing in the extrusion motor is normal rotation 3, tighten the extrusion clamp screw, increase the extrusion pressure 4, check whether the extrusion clip is broken

You didn't mention what filament it was, so it's hard to say if anyone's used the same one. That being said: PLA isn't SUPER affected by absorbing moisture, but if you hear a lot of pops and crackles from the hot end, you could try drying your filament. There are many ways to do this, including using a convection oven at low heat, modifying a vegetable dehydrator or putting the filament in a bag or case with silica gel beads. Experiment with different tempreatures; print a temp tower to find out the optimal temperatures for that specific filament. Use calipers to measure the actual diameter of your filament. Some cheper ones may have pretty massive dimensional tolerances and having an accurate filament diameter in your slicer will help a lot if there's a lot of deviation from the assumed 1.75mm.