diff --git a/.github/copilot-instructions.md b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
index 57e9572..d7f2ad4 100644
--- a/.github/copilot-instructions.md
+++ b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
@@ -3099,49 +3099,120 @@ This section contains the **TOP 10 MOST CRITICAL** pitfalls that every AI agent
 - **Status:** ✅ DEPLOYED Dec 7, 2025 02:47 UTC (commit ed9e4d5)
 - **See:** `docs/PM_MONITORING_STOP_ROOT_CAUSE_DEC7_2025.md` for complete analysis
 
-**2. Drift SDK Memory Leak (#1)** - JavaScript heap OOM after 10+ hours
+**2. Position Manager Never Actually Checks Prices - handlePriceUpdate() Early Return (#77 RECURRENCE - CRITICAL - Dec 13, 2025)**
+- **Symptom:** Telegram trades "added to Position Manager" but never monitored - zero price logs, zero condition checks, silent failure for 29+ minutes
+- **User Report:** "so the whole time all the development we did was not working and therefore we have lost 1000$"
+- **Financial Impact:** $1,000+ losses from positions completely unmonitored despite logs saying "monitoring started"
+- **Real Incident (Dec 13, 2025 20:47-21:17):**
+  * SOL-PERP SHORT opened via Telegram at 20:47:23
+  * Position Manager logs: "✅ Trade added to position manager for monitoring"
+  * Reality: Zero price checks, zero condition checks, zero monitoring
+  * User forced manual close at 21:17:10 (+$2.17 profit)
+  * Container restart 21:20:36 lost all evidence logs
+- **Root Cause:**
+  * File: `lib/trading/position-manager.ts` lines 692-696 (before fix)
+  * Code: `if (!driftService?.isInitialized) { return }` - EARLY RETURN in handlePriceUpdate()
+  * Drift initializes LAZILY (only on first API call)
+  * Position Manager starts monitoring IMMEDIATELY after addTrade()
+  * Result: Pyth price monitor called handlePriceUpdate() every 2 seconds
+  * But function returned early EVERY TIME → monitoring loop did NOTHING
+  * **Silent failure:** No errors thrown, isMonitoring=true, but zero actual checks
+- **Why Defensive Programming Backfired:**
+  * Intent: Avoid Drift errors when service not ready
+  * Reality: Created 29+ minute gap with zero position protection
+  * Monitoring loop ran but skipped ALL price/condition logic
+  * Health monitor showed "monitoring active" (flag-based, not functional check)
+- **THE FIX (Dec 13, 2025 21:46 UTC - DEPLOYED):**
+  ```typescript
+  // BEFORE (BROKEN - lines 692-696):
+  const driftService = getDriftService()
+  if (!driftService?.isInitialized) {
+    return  // ← SILENT FAILURE - monitoring does nothing!
+  }
+  
+  // AFTER (FIXED):
+  // BUG #77 FIX: Don't skip price checks if Drift not initialized
+  // Position Manager price checking must run even if external closure detection unavailable
+  const driftService = getDriftService()
+  // Continue to price checking logic regardless of Drift state
+  // External closure detection will fail gracefully if Drift unavailable
+  ```
+- **Added Observability:**
+  * Line 651-658: `console.log('🔍 Price check: ${symbol} @ $${price} (${count} trades)')`
+  * Shows monitoring loop actually running (not just flag set)
+  * Logs every 2 seconds when positions active
+- **Verification (CONFIRMED WORKING):**
+  * Test position: SOL-PERP LONG opened via `/api/trading/test`
+  * Logs: `✅ STARTMON: Position monitoring active, isMonitoring: true`
+  * Logs: `🔍 Price check: SOL-PERP @ $132.29 (2 trades)` every 2 seconds
+  * Diagnostic endpoint: `isMonitoring: true, activeTradesCount: 2`
+  * **FIX VERIFIED** - Price checks running continuously
+- **Code Locations:**
+  * handlePriceUpdate(): `lib/trading/position-manager.ts` line 651-658 (logging)
+  * Early return REMOVED: `lib/trading/position-manager.ts` line 685-695 (THE FIX)
+  * addTrade() caller: `lib/trading/position-manager.ts` line 262-312
+- **Prevention Rules:**
+  1. NEVER add early returns in monitoring loops that silently skip critical operations
+  2. Defensive checks must fail LOUDLY, not silently
+  3. If Drift unavailable, log warning but continue price checking
+  4. External closure detection is SUPPLEMENTARY - price checks are PRIMARY
+  5. Test with Telegram trades specifically (different code path than TradingView)
+  6. Verify monitoring with runtime logs, not just isMonitoring flag
+- **Red Flags Indicating This Bug:**
+  * Position opened successfully
+  * Logs say "added to position manager for monitoring"
+  * Zero `🔍 Price check` logs appearing
+  * Zero condition check logs (TP1/TP2/SL/trailing)
+  * Database configSnapshot is NULL (PM state not saved)
+  * User forced to manually close despite "monitoring active"
+- **Git Commit:** 01bd730 "critical: FIX Bug #77 - Position Manager monitoring stopped by Drift init check" (Dec 13, 2025)
+- **Deployment:** Dec 13, 2025 21:46 UTC (container trading-bot-v4)
+- **Status:** ✅ FIXED AND VERIFIED - Monitoring loop now runs correctly, test position shows price checks every 2s
+- **Lesson Learned:** Defensive programming that silently skips critical operations is MORE dangerous than failing loudly. The early return was added to "protect" against Drift errors but instead created a 29-minute unmonitored gap that cost $1,000+. Always fail loudly, never silently skip monitoring.
+
+**3. Drift SDK Memory Leak (#1)** - JavaScript heap OOM after 10+ hours
 - **Solution:** Smart error-based health monitoring (`lib/monitoring/drift-health-monitor.ts`)
 - **Detection:** `interceptWebSocketErrors()` patches console.error
 - **Action:** Restarts if 50+ errors in 30-second window
 - **Status:** Fixed Nov 15, 2025, Enhanced Nov 24, 2025
 
-**3. Wrong RPC Provider (#2)** - Alchemy breaks Drift SDK subscriptions
+**4. Wrong RPC Provider (#2)** - Alchemy breaks Drift SDK subscriptions
 - **FINAL CONCLUSION:** Use Helius RPC, NEVER use Alchemy
 - **Root Cause:** Alchemy rate limits break Drift's burst subscription pattern
 - **Evidence:** 17-71 subscription errors with Alchemy vs 0 with Helius
 - **Status:** Investigation Complete Nov 14, 2025
 
-**4. P&L Compounding Race Condition (#48, #49, #59, #60, #61, #67)**
+**5. P&L Compounding Race Condition (#48, #49, #59, #60, #61, #67)**
 - **Pattern:** Multiple monitoring loops detect same closure → each adds P&L
 - **Result:** $6 real → $92 recorded (15x inflation)
 - **Fix:** Use `Map.delete()` atomic return as deduplication lock (Dec 2, 2025)
 - **Code:** `if (!this.activeTrades.delete(tradeId)) return` - first caller wins
 
-**5. Database-First Pattern (#29)** - Save DB before Position Manager
+**6. Database-First Pattern (#29)** - Save DB before Position Manager
 - **Rule:** `createTrade()` MUST succeed before `positionManager.addTrade()`
 - **Why:** If DB fails, API returns 500 with "CLOSE POSITION MANUALLY"
 - **Impact:** Without this, positions become untracked on container restart
 - **Status:** Fixed Nov 13, 2025
 
-**6. Container Deployment Verification (#31)**
+**7. Container Deployment Verification (#31)**
 - **Rule:** NEVER say "fixed" without checking container timestamp
 - **Verification:** `docker logs trading-bot-v4 | grep "Server starting"` vs `git log -1 --format='%ai'`
 - **If container older than commit:** CODE NOT DEPLOYED, FIX NOT ACTIVE
 - **Status:** Critical lesson from Nov 13, 2025 incident
 
-**7. Position.size Tokens vs USD (#24)** - SDK returns tokens, not USD
+**8. Position.size Tokens vs USD (#24)** - SDK returns tokens, not USD
 - **Bug:** Comparing 12.28 tokens to $1,950 → "99.4% reduction" → false TP1
 - **Fix:** `positionSizeUSD = Math.abs(position.size) * currentPrice`
 - **Impact:** Without fix, TP1 never triggers correctly
 - **Status:** Fixed Nov 12, 2025
 
-**8. Ghost Detection Atomic Lock (#67)** - Map.delete() as deduplication
+**9. Ghost Detection Atomic Lock (#67)** - Map.delete() as deduplication
 - **Pattern:** Async handlers called by multiple code paths simultaneously
 - **Solution:** `if (!this.activeTrades.delete(tradeId)) { return }` - atomic lock
 - **Why:** JavaScript Map.delete() returns true only for first caller
 - **Status:** Fixed Dec 2, 2025
 
-**9. Wrong Price in usdToBase() (#81 - ROOT CAUSE - Dec 10, 2025)** - CAUSED $1,000+ LOSSES
+**10. Wrong Price in usdToBase() (#81 - ROOT CAUSE - Dec 10, 2025)** - CAUSED $1,000+ LOSSES
 - **Bug:** Changed from `usdToBase(usd, price)` to `usdToBase(usd)` using entryPrice for ALL orders
 - **Impact:** Wrong token quantities = Drift rejects orders = NULL database signatures = NO risk management
 - **Example:** $8,000 at TP1 $141.20 needs 56.66 SOL, but code calculated 57.14 SOL (used $140 entry price)
@@ -3149,7 +3220,7 @@ This section contains the **TOP 10 MOST CRITICAL** pitfalls that every AI agent
 - **Original commit:** 4cc294b (Oct 26, 2025) - "All 3 exit orders placed successfully on-chain" (100% success)
 - **Status:** ✅ FIXED Dec 10, 2025 14:31 CET (commit 55d780c)
 
-**10. Drift State Verifier Kills Active Positions (#82 - CRITICAL - Dec 10, 2025)** - Automatic retry close on wrong positions
+**11. Drift State Verifier Kills Active Positions (#82 - CRITICAL - Dec 10, 2025)** - Automatic retry close on wrong positions
 - **Bug:** Verifier detected 6 old closed positions (150-1064 min ago), all showed "15.45 tokens" (user's CURRENT trade!), automatically called closePosition()
 - **Impact:** User's manual trade HAD working SL, then Telegram alert "⚠️ Retry close attempted automatically", SL orders immediately disappeared
 - **Root Cause:** Lines 279-283 call closePosition() for every mismatch, no verification if Drift position is OLD (should close) vs NEW (active trade)