diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b651e9174..6c87fa9ec 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -53,3 +53,6 @@ ext/widget_renderer/Makefile
 ext/widget_renderer/*.dylib
 # Keep the prebuilt Linux .so for Cloud Foundry deployment
 !ext/widget_renderer/libwidget_renderer.so
+
+# Certificate files (avoid accidental commits of sensitive keys/certs)
+*.pem
diff --git a/app/models/form.rb b/app/models/form.rb
index edffcb94e..ea8aeb30b 100644
--- a/app/models/form.rb
+++ b/app/models/form.rb
@@ -358,28 +358,14 @@ def touchpoints_js_string
     end
 
     # Always use ERB template rendering for now to avoid Rust compilation issues
-    controller = ApplicationController.new
-
-    # Set up a mock request with default URL options to avoid "undefined method 'host' for nil" errors
-    # This is necessary because the ERB templates use root_url which requires request context
-    # Try action_controller first, fall back to action_mailer if not set
-    default_options = Rails.application.config.action_controller.default_url_options ||
-                      Rails.application.config.action_mailer.default_url_options ||
-                      {}
-    host = default_options[:host] || 'localhost'
-    port = default_options[:port] || 3000
-    protocol = default_options[:protocol] || (port == 443 ? 'https' : 'http')
-
-    # Create a mock request
-    mock_request = ActionDispatch::Request.new(
-      'rack.url_scheme' => protocol,
-      'HTTP_HOST' => "#{host}#{":#{port}" if port != 80 && port != 443}",
-      'SERVER_NAME' => host,
-      'SERVER_PORT' => port.to_s,
-    )
+    controller_with_request = build_controller_with_mock_request
+    controller_with_request.render_to_string(partial: 'components/widget/fba', formats: :js, locals: { form: self })
+  end
 
-    controller.request = mock_request
-    controller.render_to_string(partial: 'components/widget/fba', formats: :js, locals: { form: self })
+  # Renders the widget CSS partial for use with the Rust widget renderer
+  def render_widget_css
+    controller_with_request = build_controller_with_mock_request
+    controller_with_request.render_to_string(partial: 'components/widget/widget', formats: :css, locals: { form: self })
   end
 
   # Renders the widget CSS partial for use with the Rust widget renderer
@@ -1076,6 +1062,31 @@ def self.forms_whose_retention_period_has_passed
 
   private
 
+  # Builds an ApplicationController instance with a mock request for rendering partials
+  # This is necessary because ERB templates use URL helpers which require request context
+  def build_controller_with_mock_request
+    controller = ApplicationController.new
+
+    # Set up a mock request with default URL options
+    # Try action_controller first, fall back to action_mailer if not set
+    default_options = Rails.application.config.action_controller.default_url_options ||
+                      Rails.application.config.action_mailer.default_url_options ||
+                      {}
+    host = default_options[:host] || 'localhost'
+    port = default_options[:port] || 3000
+    protocol = default_options[:protocol] || (port == 443 ? 'https' : 'http')
+
+    mock_request = ActionDispatch::Request.new(
+      'rack.url_scheme' => protocol,
+      'HTTP_HOST' => "#{host}#{":#{port}" if port != 80 && port != 443}",
+      'SERVER_NAME' => host,
+      'SERVER_PORT' => port.to_s,
+    )
+
+    controller.request = mock_request
+    controller
+  end
+
   def set_uuid
     self.uuid ||= SecureRandom.uuid
     self.short_uuid ||= self.uuid[0..7]
diff --git a/ext/widget_renderer/extconf.rb b/ext/widget_renderer/extconf.rb
index ab434ccdc..6b8fde0a5 100644
--- a/ext/widget_renderer/extconf.rb
+++ b/ext/widget_renderer/extconf.rb
@@ -30,8 +30,6 @@ def ensure_rust
 
 puts "Current directory: #{Dir.pwd}"
 puts "Using cargo executable: #{cargo_bin}"
-puts "Cleaning previous build artifacts..."
-system("#{cargo_bin} clean 2>&1")
 puts "Running cargo build --release..."
 system("#{cargo_bin} build --release 2>&1") or abort 'Failed to build Rust extension'
 
diff --git a/ext/widget_renderer/src/template_renderer.rs b/ext/widget_renderer/src/template_renderer.rs
index c46483adb..736df31aa 100644
--- a/ext/widget_renderer/src/template_renderer.rs
+++ b/ext/widget_renderer/src/template_renderer.rs
@@ -52,10 +52,18 @@ impl TemplateRenderer {
             ""
         };
 
-        let modal_class = if form.kind == "recruitment" {
-            "fba-usa-modal fba-usa-modal--lg".to_string()
+        let modal_class = if form.load_css {
+            if form.kind == "recruitment" {
+                "fba-usa-modal fba-usa-modal--lg".to_string()
+            } else {
+                "fba-usa-modal".to_string()
+            }
         } else {
-            "fba-usa-modal".to_string()
+            if form.kind == "recruitment" {
+                "usa-modal usa-modal--lg".to_string()
+            } else {
+                "usa-modal".to_string()
+            }
         };
 
         let turnstile_check = if form.enable_turnstile {
@@ -859,9 +867,10 @@ function FBAform(d, N) {{
         let question_params = self.render_question_params(form);
         let html_body = self.render_html_body(form).replace("`", "\\`");
         let html_body_no_modal = self.render_html_body_no_modal(form).replace("`", "\\`");
-        // Escape the CSS for JavaScript string - escape backslashes, quotes, and newlines
+        // Escape the CSS for JavaScript string - escape backslashes, backticks, quotes, and newlines
         let escaped_css = form.css
             .replace("\\", "\\\\")
+            .replace("`", "\\`")
             .replace("\"", "\\\"")
             .replace("\n", "\\n")
             .replace("\r", "");
@@ -945,8 +954,19 @@ window.touchpointForm{uuid}.init(touchpointFormOptions{uuid});
 		if (fbaModalElement) {{
 			if (fbaUswds.Modal) fbaUswds.Modal.on(fbaModalElement);
 		}}
-		// Ensure the custom button is also initialized if it exists
-		const customButtonEl = document.getElementById('{element_selector}');
+		// Ensure the modal button is also initialized if it exists (for 'modal' delivery method)
+		const fbaButton = document.querySelector('#fba-button');
+		if (fbaButton) {{
+			if (fbaUswds.Modal) {{
+				fbaUswds.Modal.on(fbaButton);
+				fbaButton.classList.add('fba-initialized');
+			}} else {{
+				console.error("Touchpoints Error: fbaUswds.Modal is not defined");
+			}}
+		}}
+		// Ensure the custom button is also initialized if it exists (for 'custom-button-modal' delivery method)
+		const customButtonSelector = '{element_selector}';
+		const customButtonEl = (customButtonSelector && customButtonSelector.length > 0) ? document.getElementById(customButtonSelector) : null;
 		if (customButtonEl && ('{delivery_method}' === 'custom-button-modal')) {{
 			if (fbaUswds.Modal) {{
 				fbaUswds.Modal.on(customButtonEl);
diff --git a/spec/features/admin/forms_spec.rb b/spec/features/admin/forms_spec.rb
index 4dab24fa0..790429d9f 100644
--- a/spec/features/admin/forms_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/features/admin/forms_spec.rb
@@ -450,10 +450,11 @@
               find('.survey-title-input').set('Updated Form Title')
               find('.survey-title-input').native.send_key :tab
               expect(page).to have_content('form title saved')
+              # Wait for AJAX save to complete before refreshing
+              wait_for_ajax
               # and persists after refresh
               visit questions_admin_form_path(form)
               wait_for_builder
-              wait_for_builder
               expect(find('.survey-title-input').value).to eq('Updated Form Title')
             end