Jared - a couple of things. Lacquer thinner is a key thing for airbrush cleaning and maintenance, but it can also destroy some components in an airbrush (any rubber gaskets, airbrush lubricants, etc.). So I would suggest using it sparingly. I’ll usually run some through the brush when I finish a session, and much of the time this is strong enough so that I don’t have to disassemble it each time for cleaning. Then, every few sessions (or more/less frequenly if I’m been spraying more/less), I’ll pull the needle out and make sure that it doesn’t have any paint buildup and clean it will lacquer thinner too.
I don’t soak anything in the thinner, however, as gaskets, etc., can be destroyed by this. So I’d go a bit easy. If working with enamels, you can work with mineral thinner more liberally as a cleaner, and if with acrylics, you can work with windex as a good thinner. Then hit it with lacquer thinner at the end of each session.
HTH - Jon
P.S. Also, when reinserting the needle, don’t push it too hard or too far in as this can deform the relatively-delicate housing in some instances. Instead, push the needle in just far enough until the angled portion of the needle is fully visible, but not past that.