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Hi @mkjohnsons and thanks for adding your thoughts as well as struggles. What I have done is just grabbed two or three notes of the lick I can play reasonably ok at the same tempo as the lick. Forget about playing all of the lick, just grab two or three notes. Then go through them notes as many times as you need and even jumble them up. Maybe play them back to front if you like, there’s no set pattern and we don’t have to play the notes in the same order as the lick even.
Then when you’re ready, just play one of the notes at any given point along the lick (you can stop and start and leave gaps if you like, you haven’t got to play the note or notes continuously, just throw it in when you think your ready and after a while add two notes when your ready, either together or separated. Try this continuously and add more notes from the lick when you’re ready and surpisingly very soon, you’ll be adding lots of various notes from the lick.
Maybe it’s because your adding the notes slowly because you’re learning and that is why it doesn’t sound right, but just carry on getting use to adding any of the notes and gradually as you get faster (no rush at speed) they will sound more natural. Then when you’re ready, try the odd slide or bend now and then to give the sound some flavour.
I may be wrong, but I believe that if the lick notes and the backing track are both in the same scale, then it doesn’t matter what order you add the notes, it will all sound great. I hope I’m correct at what I’ve told you here, because that’s what I’m doing and everything sounds fun and that’s what we all want you to have, so persevere and see how you get on, my best wishes to you as you practice 👍