I have used pre-stain conditioner as recommended by the manufacturer. The issue I've had with traditional stain is applying the topcoat lifted the stain back off.

The gel stain functioned reasonably well, but I didn't really get a depth of color I like. It came away looking kinda rustic. So I have my process if I ever get a contract with Cracker Barrel.

I've had such good results out of the few wiping oils/drying varnishes over hardwoods that I just can't bring myself to face the fuss and muss that comes in every can of urethane. I might experiment with wipe-on poly at some point. And that Minwax Polyshades product is just straight-up liquid project ruiner.

To be clear, I haven't worked with actual tung oil to date. I've used Minwax Tung Oil Finish on several products, which is a Danish oil-like product. As far as I can tell it's a blend of drying oil and urethane that may or may not have some tung oil in it IDK. I like this product for projects I don't intend to stain.

I think I have a process for surviving my current project with the Watco danish oil I've used on the tops: Where the manufacturer says to lightly wipe the surface with a rag dampened in natural (no added stain/dye) Danish oil, then immediately wipe dry on more porous woods, I'm going to go a full coat of natural before the dyed coat.

Coating chemistry aside, the faster I can get pitch pockets out of my life the better off the world will be.