This happened to me too! When you first take a PT, chances are you have not yet realized how much you don't know. You breeze through it not because you have LSAT technique on lock, but because you don't overthink as many questions. While you may fall for more tricks, you usually complete all the answers! By contrast, when you have gotten through some of the curriculum and realized just how tricky these LSAT writers are, you tend to spend more time looking for those tricks, even on the easy questions. You may be learning Lawgic and still taking a while to map it out. As a result you might have to skip or guess on some questions, which is a drain on your score, but continuing to practice the way you do will actually enhance your accuracy over time. You're honing your instincts so that eventually your speed and confidence improves.

I got a surprisingly good score on my first practice test, which really got my hopes up. It declined as I went on, which kind of crushed me, but it was definitely because I was thinking through every question with the new skills I was learning. Eventually, it started coming back up! I'm still trying to improve because overthinking is a tough habit to kick, and I'm reluctant to skip questions when I've already put in some time. It's a work in progress.

Anyway, my point is to not let this get you down, because these scores are ridiculously sensitive (like, one wrong answer makes a difference) and they are NOT a gauge of your potential. A couple of tough questions can tank you when you're otherwise doing great, but that doesn't mean you will encounter those particular types of tough questions on your actual test! In this case wrong answer journaling can really help you feel on top of your performance. Seeing that some of my mistakes are dumb is actually a relief, because they are easy to fix by reading more carefully! I think about how much better my score would be if I had caught those errors, and then gauge my actual abilities based on that score.

I don't mean to presume that I'm the best person to answer your question, because we're both in the same position studying right now. However, I would recommend 1) reviewing the lessons for this question type (including the foundational topics that are referenced in the review section of each lesson) and 2) if you're stressing about time right now, STOP. Go as slow as possible until you understand the whole stimulus and how each of the choices relates to it. Make sure you can give a concrete reason for why every answer you eliminate is wrong, and why the answer you choose is right--chances are, you're either guessing at one that sounds the least wrong but is not totally convincing, or you're convinced on an answer because you're falling for one of the baits that LSAT writers use. When reviewing the explanations for the questions, pay attention to the reason given for why the wrong answers might be tempting. Keep track the type of mistakes you are making so that you can learn to recognize them, and use the tags in the drill section to practice questions that deal with that particular issue. Don't lose hope, because once you finally understand it you will spot the tricks from a mile away. Kind of like going back to your terrible ex until you finally hate them and see through their lies. You got this!