John, I have been making / fishing my own FL for between 8 to 10 years now. I have never used the rings.
Skip Shorb is a personal friend and when he did the thing on the "Shorb loop", having one of the original write ups with photos, done by and given to me by Skip, I have used only the Shorb loop on both ends of all my FL.
I have never had any fraying of my different threads I have used. Of course I am not sure if the rings are causing your problem but I might suggest omitting the ring and see if your problem might go away.
I would be happy to send you a copy of the Shorb Loop that I have. I find it far easier to use than some other write ups done by others.

Hope to see you next week.

Denny