diff --git a/.github/copilot-instructions.md b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
index 1b43bb2..fc69261 100644
--- a/.github/copilot-instructions.md
+++ b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
@@ -393,9 +393,11 @@ await positionManager.addTrade(activeTrade)
 - Closes positions via `closePosition()` market orders when targets hit
 - Acts as backup if on-chain orders don't fill
 - State persistence: Saves to database, restores on restart via `configSnapshot.positionManagerState`
+- **Startup validation:** On container restart, cross-checks last 24h "closed" trades against Drift to detect orphaned positions (see `lib/startup/init-position-manager.ts`)
 - **Grace period for new trades:** Skips "external closure" detection for positions <30 seconds old (Drift positions take 5-10s to propagate)
 - **Exit reason detection:** Uses trade state flags (`tp1Hit`, `tp2Hit`) and realized P&L to determine exit reason, NOT current price (avoids misclassification when price moves after order fills)
 - **Real P&L calculation:** Calculates actual profit based on entry vs exit price, not SDK's potentially incorrect values
+- **Rate limit-aware exit:** On 429 errors during close, keeps trade in monitoring (doesn't mark closed), retries naturally on next price update
 
 ### 3. Telegram Bot (`telegram_command_bot.py`)
 **Purpose:** Python-based Telegram bot for manual trading commands and position status monitoring
@@ -443,12 +445,20 @@ const health = await driftService.getAccountHealth()
 ### 4. Rate Limit Monitoring (`lib/drift/orders.ts` + `app/api/analytics/rate-limits`)
 **Purpose:** Track and analyze Solana RPC rate limiting (429 errors) to prevent silent failures
 
-**Retry mechanism with exponential backoff:**
+**Helius RPC Limits (Free Tier):**
+- **Burst:** 100 requests/second
+- **Sustained:** 10 requests/second  
+- **Monthly:** 100k requests
+- See `docs/HELIUS_RATE_LIMITS.md` for upgrade recommendations
+
+**Retry mechanism with exponential backoff (Nov 14, 2025 - Updated):**
 ```typescript
 await retryWithBackoff(async () => {
   return await driftClient.cancelOrders(...)
-}, maxRetries = 3, baseDelay = 2000)
+}, maxRetries = 3, baseDelay = 5000) // Increased from 2s to 5s
 ```
+**Progression:** 5s → 10s → 20s (vs old 2s → 4s → 8s)
+**Rationale:** Gives Helius time to recover, reduces cascade pressure by 2.5x
 
 **Database logging:** Three event types in SystemEvent table:
 - `rate_limit_hit`: Each 429 error (logged with attempt #, delay, error snippet)
@@ -463,12 +473,19 @@ Returns: Total hits/recoveries/failures, hourly patterns, recovery times, succes
 
 **Key behaviors:**
 - Only RPC calls wrapped: `cancelAllOrders()`, `placeExitOrders()`, `closePosition()`
-- Position Manager 2s loop does NOT make RPC calls (only price checks via Pyth WebSocket)
-- Exponential backoff: 2s → 4s → 8s delays on retry
+- Position Manager monitoring: Event-driven via Pyth WebSocket (not polling)
+- Rate limit-aware exit: Position Manager keeps monitoring on 429 errors (retries naturally)
 - Logs to both console and database for post-trade analysis
 
 **Monitoring queries:** See `docs/RATE_LIMIT_MONITORING.md` for SQL queries
 
+**Startup Position Validation (Nov 14, 2025 - Added):**
+On container startup, cross-checks last 24h of "closed" trades against actual Drift positions:
+- If DB says closed but Drift shows open → reopens in DB to restore Position Manager tracking
+- Prevents orphaned positions from failed close transactions
+- Logs: `🔴 CRITICAL: ${symbol} marked as CLOSED in DB but still OPEN on Drift!`
+- Implementation: `lib/startup/init-position-manager.ts` - `validateOpenTrades()`
+
 ### 5. Order Placement (`lib/drift/orders.ts`)
 **Critical functions:** 
 - `openPosition()` - Opens market position with transaction confirmation
@@ -508,7 +525,7 @@ Solana RPC endpoints return 429 errors under load. Always use retry logic for or
 export async function retryWithBackoff<T>(
   operation: () => Promise<T>,
   maxRetries: number = 3,
-  initialDelay: number = 2000
+  initialDelay: number = 5000  // Increased from 2000ms to 5000ms (Nov 14, 2025)
 ): Promise<T> {
   for (let attempt = 0; attempt < maxRetries; attempt++) {
     try {
@@ -529,6 +546,7 @@ export async function retryWithBackoff<T>(
 // Usage in cancelAllOrders
 await retryWithBackoff(() => driftClient.cancelOrders(...))
 ```
+**Note:** Increased from 2s to 5s base delay to give Helius RPC more recovery time. See `docs/HELIUS_RATE_LIMITS.md` for detailed analysis.
 Without this, order cancellations fail silently during TP1→breakeven order updates, leaving ghost orders that cause incorrect fills.
 
 **Dual Stop System** (USE_DUAL_STOPS=true):
@@ -625,6 +643,7 @@ const driftSymbol = normalizeTradingViewSymbol(body.symbol)
 - `/api/trading/check-risk` - Pre-execution validation (duplicate check, quality score, **per-symbol cooldown**, rate limits, **symbol enabled check**, **saves blocked signals automatically**)
 - `/api/trading/test` - Test trades from settings UI (no auth required, **respects symbol enable/disable**)
 - `/api/trading/close` - Manual position closing (requires symbol normalization)
+- `/api/trading/sync-positions` - **Force Position Manager sync with Drift** (POST, requires auth) - restores tracking for orphaned positions
 - `/api/trading/cancel-orders` - **Manual order cleanup** (for stuck/ghost orders after rate limit failures)
 - `/api/trading/positions` - Query open positions from Drift
 - `/api/trading/market-data` - Webhook for TradingView market data updates (GET for debug, POST for data)
@@ -1094,7 +1113,7 @@ trade.realizedPnL += actualRealizedPnL  // NOT: result.realizedPnL from SDK
     - **Fix:** Automatic retry in `lib/drift/client.ts` - `retryOperation()` wrapper:
     ```typescript
     // Detects transient errors: fetch failed, EAI_AGAIN, ENOTFOUND, ETIMEDOUT
-    // Retries up to 3 times with 2s delay between attempts
+    // Retries up to 3 times with 2s delay between attempts (DNS-specific, separate from rate limit retries)
     // Fails fast on non-transient errors (auth, config, permanent network issues)
     await this.retryOperation(async () => {
       // Initialize Drift SDK, subscribe, get user account
@@ -1102,6 +1121,7 @@ trade.realizedPnL += actualRealizedPnL  // NOT: result.realizedPnL from SDK
     ```
     - **Success logs:** `⚠️ Drift initialization failed (attempt 1/3): fetch failed` → `⏳ Retrying in 2000ms...` → `✅ Drift service initialized successfully`
     - **Impact:** 99% of transient DNS failures now auto-recover, preventing missed trades
+    - **Note:** DNS retries use 2s delays (fast recovery), rate limit retries use 5s delays (RPC cooldown)
     - **Documentation:** See `docs/DNS_RETRY_LOGIC.md` for monitoring queries and metrics
 
 29. **Declaring fixes "working" before deployment (CRITICAL - Nov 13, 2025):**