After reading and rereading everything I somehow apparently glossed over the fact that PLA "needs" the smooth sheet 😫 

Since it's late and I'm still frustrated that spent over 3 hours trying to get anything to properly stick, I'll try printing on the smooth sheet tomorrow morning and will update then.

I can sincerely assure you that this is not the case.  It will most likely be easier for you to print PLA on the smooth build plate, but experience has shown that the Prusa textured plate will indeed work with PLA as well as most other filaments.

I like the texture it produces and use it frequently.  I am trying to find a similar build plate for my other printer (Ultimaker) but so far have not found a true drop-in solution.

Since it's late and I'm still frustrated that spent over 3 hours trying to get anything to properly stick, I'll try printing on the smooth sheet tomorrow morning and will update then.

I'm reporting my experiences.  I am no beginner and I have very few failed prints.  I must be doing something right.

So to summarize :

0 - consider using the recommended plate :D

For the textured plate, I always set the Z calibration right to the point that the 'brush strokes' in the square 'flag' just disappear into the pattern created by the textured surface.  This point will also result in nice square corners, with no pulling, of the zig-zag lines.

I won't admonish you to Clean Your Plate And Clean It My Way (tm), but the textured plate does need to be Really Most Sincerely Clean (tm) for things to properly stick.

One thing that can really help with adhesion issues is the use of an adhesion booster, such as Layerneer or the alternatives discussed in the recent 'What is in Layerneer' thread.  A little goes a long way and this works very well with the Prusa textured build plate.

There's been some anecdotal evidence over the years that the Prusa textured build plates adhere better after 'seasoning' with regular use, such as a BBQ grill works better after said seasoning.  ;-)

There's also some anecdotal evidence that some Prusa textured build plates, possibly of different production runs or manufacturers, have much better adhesion than others.  Mine (apparently one of the 'good' ones) has a production code WA-15 in the upper right.

To summarize, 1. Absolutely clean build plate. 2. Spot-on Z calibration. 3. Adhesion booster if needed.

See the same issue as yours, here experienced on the Mini (@2:35) :

https://youtu.be/Z888Y_Apce4?t=155

I've run multiple first layer calibrations, went as high as 1.40, but realized that was too close as it was pushing the first layer around. I'm now at .950. I was still having issue with the first layer so I flipped the sheet around and it was working a little better and got past the first layer, but after the second it came off the bed.

Any suggestions? I'm using the textured metal sheet and the PLA that came with the printer.