Dave, it may be your drier air farther north, and having it in 'conditioned space' vs ambient humidity may indeed be a factor but I think outside is the right answer.
IC2, I will end up with something very similar, but I think I may spring for Vintage Air's polished horizontal unit that I can tuck to the inside frame rail in your same location. That way I will have one line from the evaporator to the compressor, and one line from compressor to condenser out in view.

Thanks,