William et al.

You may notice that your Ebrake has a very long throw or a lot of "slack"
before it engages.

Try this.  Set the parking brake where it just feels like it's engaging.
Back off one notch.

Now test the regular braking system.  If it works a lot better you have lost
the adjustment in the rear brakes.  For all intents and porpoises, the auto
adjust mechanism doesn't.  Gotta do it the old fashioned way by turning the
notched wheel and making sure the ratchet mechanism engages properly.

Knuckles bleed before brakes bleed

p