Mr Driller Drill Sprits: to the moon and back

Despite completing 1500m, I can't get down to 1000m on the two 2000m stages, in New York and on the moon. The moon stage is clever, as it introduces items, such as extending the maximum air, filling the air gauge (which can be very handy indeed), providing a shield, speeding Mr Driller up, or slowing the descent of blocks. At times this can be useful, but I find myself trying to get to the items even when it'd be best not to. I need to get better at evaluating when there are too many obstacles in the way - and when I'm likely to kill myself by burrowing under unstable blocks.