In my opinion the baskets that come with Weber grills are designed to make you feel like your getting more for your money, otherwise they're useless. The internet is full of stories just like yours where you tried them and got disappointed by the results, due to not enough heat to grill effectively, not enough fuel to cook long enough, or the fire was weak on one side and just kinda fizzled.
The general recommendation is to park the baskets in a storage bin somewhere and bank the coals or use the snake/fuse method, depending on what your cooking. You'll get more predictable, consistent, and versatile fires without the baskets.