Trancers Time Travel Makes NO SENSE (Hear me out!)

Okay, so I've watched Trancers like...a LOT. I used to think it was just fun 80s cheese (which it totally is!), but the time travel element has been bugging me lately. Like, how does it actually work? They use the 'Long Second' thing, right? But if Whistler goes back first, THEN Deth follows, wouldn't that create some kind of weird paradox? Doesn't Whistler going back change the future that Deth is coming from? And think about it: Deth inhabits his ancestor, Phil. Okay, cool. But if he kills Whistler in 1985 (which he does), wouldn't that prevent Whistler from ever going to the future in the first place? So, technically, Deth would never have to go back! It's a closed loop that breaks itself! I know time travel stories rarely make perfect sense, but this one just feels extra messy. Is there some throwaway line I missed in one of my many viewings? Plus, and this is a smaller point, but wouldn't the Deth in Phil's body have some memory or instinct from Phil's life? He just seems to adapt way too quickly to being a journalist who drinks a lot. Like, that bar scene -- how does he know to order whiskey? Maybe Phil was a secret whiskey connoisseur? Or is he adapting that fast? I don't know, it just feels weird. Also, is there any science behind trancer transformations? Are they just vessels for consciousness? Or is it like zombies but they still have awareness? Anyway, I'd love to hear what other Trancers fanatics think! Am I overthinking this? Probably. But that's what happens when you watch a movie as many times as I have! Maybe I need to finally buy the sequel(s) and spend time understanding the mythos. I've heard it gets even weirder somehow. Wish me luck... or maybe just send some aspirin.