The hot wax was gone from the chain in under 200 miles.

Wow, that makes it functionally useless imo. My current approach is really simple:

1. Clean chain with a cleaning tool - 1-2 min
2. Rinse and dry with a paper towel - 30s
3. Add oil lube and dry with a towel - 30s

I do that whenever I remember (and check the chain stretch), and it seems to work pretty well. I keep a bottle of Simple Green for cleaner and dilute ~50/50, then lube with whatever my LBS sells. It seems to do a pretty good job…