diff --git a/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/generation/base_handler.py b/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/generation/base_handler.py
index deac28be..52e7376c 100644
--- a/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/generation/base_handler.py
+++ b/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/generation/base_handler.py
@@ -158,8 +158,14 @@ async def run(self) -> AsyncIterator[str]:
             if hasattr(output, 'choices') and output.choices:
                 delta = output.choices[0].delta
 
-                if hasattr(delta, 'reasoning_content') and delta.reasoning_content:
-                    self.ctx.accumulated_reasoning += delta.reasoning_content
+                reasoning_content = (
+                    getattr(delta, 'reasoning_content', None)
+                    or (delta.model_extra or {}).get('reasoning_content')
+                    or (delta.model_extra or {}).get('reasoning')
+                    or ''
+                )
+                if reasoning_content:
+                    self.ctx.accumulated_reasoning += reasoning_content
 
                 if hasattr(delta, 'content') and delta.content:
                     self.ctx.accumulated_content += delta.content
@@ -227,8 +233,13 @@ async def run(self) -> AsyncIterator[str]:
                 async for audio_event in self._interleave_audio(channels['final']):
                     yield audio_event
         else:
-            # for/else: flush remaining chunks after stream ends
-            channels = self.ctx.previous_channels
+            # for/else: flush any content held back by PARTIAL_TAIL_GUARD
+            # Recompute channels from the final accumulated text (bypasses the guard)
+            if self.ctx.accumulated_reasoning:
+                final_text = f"<think>{self.ctx.accumulated_reasoning}</think>{self.ctx.accumulated_content}"
+            else:
+                final_text = self.ctx.accumulated_content
+            channels = extract_channels(final_text) or self.ctx.previous_channels
             chunks = {
                 c: channels[c][len(self.ctx.previous_channels.get(c, "")):]
                 for c in channels
@@ -241,6 +252,7 @@ async def run(self) -> AsyncIterator[str]:
                 yield sse(ResponseDelta(seq=self.ctx.text_seq, text_channel=channel, text=chunk))
                 self.ctx.text_seq += 1
                 print(chunk, end="")
+            self.ctx.previous_channels = channels
 
             # Flush remaining audio
             if self.audio_response and 'final' in channels:
diff --git a/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/generation/model_call.py b/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/generation/model_call.py
index 201780a5..ec266156 100644
--- a/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/generation/model_call.py
+++ b/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/generation/model_call.py
@@ -12,8 +12,12 @@
 SAMPLING_PARAMS = {
     "temperature": 0.6,
     "top_p": 0.95,
-    "max_tokens": 6000,
-    "extra_body": {"top_k": 20, "min_p": 0}
+    "max_tokens": 2000,
+    "extra_body": {
+        "top_k": 20,
+        "min_p": 0,
+        "chat_template_kwargs": {"thinking_budget": 512},
+    }
 }
 
 
diff --git a/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/generation/parser.py b/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/generation/parser.py
index 9d597bd0..e4023bd3 100644
--- a/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/generation/parser.py
+++ b/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/generation/parser.py
@@ -171,6 +171,18 @@ def extract_channels(text: str) -> dict:
     if not text:
         return {"analysis": "", "final": ""}
 
+    # Handle case where vLLM strips the opening <think> token but passes </think> through.
+    # In this case the text starts with thinking content and contains </think> with no leading <think>.
+    if "</think>" in text and not re.match(r"^\s*<think>", text):
+        parts = text.split("</think>", 1)
+        incomplete_patterns = ["</think", "</thin", "</thi", "</th", "</t", "</", "<"]
+        cleaned = parts[0]
+        for pattern in incomplete_patterns:
+            if parts[0].endswith(pattern):
+                cleaned = parts[0][:-len(pattern)]
+                break
+        return {"analysis": cleaned.strip(), "final": parts[1].strip()}
+
     # Only treat `<think>...</think>` as a wrapper when it is a leading block.
     if re.match(r"^\s*<think>", text):
         if "</think>" in text:
@@ -180,16 +192,20 @@ def extract_channels(text: str) -> dict:
                 return {"analysis": m.group("analysis").strip(), "final": m.group("final").strip()}
 
             parts = text.split("</think>", 1)
-            return {"analysis": parts[0].strip(), "final": parts[1].strip()}
+            analysis = re.sub(r"^\s*<think>\s*", "", parts[0]).strip()
+            return {"analysis": analysis, "final": parts[1].strip()}
 
         # Streaming: `<think>` started but hasn't closed yet.
-        incomplete_patterns = ["</think", "</", "<"]
+        # All partial suffixes of `</think>` must be listed so they are stripped before emitting.
+        incomplete_patterns = ["</think", "</thin", "</thi", "</th", "</t", "</", "<"]
         cleaned_text = text
         for pattern in incomplete_patterns:
             if text.endswith(pattern):
                 cleaned_text = text[:-len(pattern)]
                 break
-        return {"analysis": cleaned_text.strip(), "final": ""}
+        # Strip the leading <think> tag so analysis is tag-free (consistent with complete case)
+        analysis = re.sub(r"^\s*<think>\s*", "", cleaned_text).strip()
+        return {"analysis": analysis, "final": ""}
 
     # No think wrapper → everything is final (supports pure-JSON outputs).
     thinking = _extract_top_level_json_string_field(text, "thinking")
diff --git a/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/query/reformulation.py b/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/query/reformulation.py
index 6f50445d..af792133 100644
--- a/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/query/reformulation.py
+++ b/ai_chatbot_backend/app/services/query/reformulation.py
@@ -1,7 +1,22 @@
 from typing import Any
 
+from openai import AsyncOpenAI
+
 from app.config import settings
-from app.dependencies.model import get_vllm_chat_client
+
+# Singleton client for reformulation — avoids leaking a new connection pool on every call
+_reformulation_client: AsyncOpenAI | None = None
+
+
+def _get_reformulation_client() -> AsyncOpenAI:
+    global _reformulation_client
+    if _reformulation_client is None:
+        _reformulation_client = AsyncOpenAI(
+            base_url=settings.vllm_chat_url,
+            api_key=settings.vllm_api_key,
+        )
+    return _reformulation_client
+
 
 # Query reformulator prompt
 _QUERY_REFORMULATOR_PROMPT = (
@@ -14,8 +29,6 @@
     "to align terminology and target specific topics. Include relevant constraints "
     "(dates, versions, scope), and avoid adding facts not in the history. "
     "Return only the rewritten query as question in plain text—no quotes, no extra text."
-    "# Valid channels: analysis, commentary, final. Channel must be included for every message."
-    "Calls to these tools must go to the commentary channel: 'functions'.<|end|>"
 )
 
 
@@ -70,17 +83,26 @@ async def build_retrieval_query(
 
     print(f"[DEBUG] Reformulation input ({len(request_content)} chars):\n{request_content[:2000]}...")
 
-    client = get_vllm_chat_client()
+    client = _get_reformulation_client()
     response = await client.chat.completions.create(
         model=settings.vllm_chat_model,
         messages=chat,
         temperature=0.6,
         top_p=0.95,
-        max_tokens=500,
-        extra_body={"top_k": 20, "min_p": 0}
+        max_tokens=512,
+        timeout=30.0,
+        extra_body={"top_k": 20, "min_p": 0, "chat_template_kwargs": {"enable_thinking": False}},
+    )
+    msg = response.choices[0].message
+    content = msg.content or ""
+    # reasoning_content is a vLLM extension stored in model_extra by the openai SDK
+    reasoning = (
+        getattr(msg, "reasoning_content", None)
+        or (msg.model_extra or {}).get("reasoning_content")
+        or (msg.model_extra or {}).get("reasoning")
+        or ""
     )
-    # vLLM with --reasoning-parser separates reasoning_content from content
-    # Use content directly (final response without thinking)
-    text = response.choices[0].message.content or ""
-    print(f"[INFO] Generated RAG-Query: {text.strip()}")
-    return text.strip()
+    print(f"[DEBUG] Reformulation raw: content={repr(content[:200])}, reasoning_content={repr(reasoning[:200])}")
+    text = content.strip() or reasoning.strip()
+    print(f"[INFO] Generated RAG-Query: {text[:200]}")
+    return text or user_message
diff --git a/ai_chatbot_backend/scripts/start_vllm_servers.sh b/ai_chatbot_backend/scripts/start_vllm_servers.sh
index 9e469138..30388b63 100755
--- a/ai_chatbot_backend/scripts/start_vllm_servers.sh
+++ b/ai_chatbot_backend/scripts/start_vllm_servers.sh
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ BLUE='\033[0;34m'
 NC='\033[0m' # No Color
 
 # Server configurations
-CHAT_MODEL="cpatonn/Qwen3-30B-A3B-Thinking-2507-AWQ-4bit"
+CHAT_MODEL="/home/tai25/models/qwen3.5-27b-awq-4bit"
 CHAT_PORT=8001
 CHAT_GPUS="0,1"
 
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ main() {
     # Start Chat Model Server (Port 8001) - requires 2 GPUs for tensor parallel
     start_server "chat" "$CHAT_MODEL" "$CHAT_PORT" "$CHAT_GPUS" \
         "--tensor-parallel-size 2" \
-        "--gpu-memory-utilization 0.47" \
+        "--gpu-memory-utilization 0.55" \
         "--max-model-len 10000" \
         "--max_num_seqs 32" \
         "--reasoning-parser deepseek_r1"
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ main() {
     start_server "embed" "$EMBEDDING_MODEL" "$EMBEDDING_PORT" "$EMBEDDING_GPUS" \
         "--max-model-len 10000" \
         "--max-num-seqs 32" \
-        "--gpu-memory-utilization 0.4"
+        "--gpu-memory-utilization 0.3"
 
     if ! wait_for_server $EMBEDDING_PORT "Embedding"; then
         log_error "Embedding server failed to start. Check tmux session for errors."
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ main() {
 
     # Start Whisper Server (Port 8003)
     start_server "whisper" "$WHISPER_MODEL" "$WHISPER_PORT" "$WHISPER_GPUS" \
-        "--gpu-memory-utilization 0.37"
+        "--gpu-memory-utilization 0.2"
 
     if ! wait_for_server $WHISPER_PORT "Whisper"; then
         log_error "Whisper server failed to start. Check tmux session for errors."