Figured out my drill bits were the problem after 8 months of stripped screws
I was putting up a shelf in my garage last Saturday and stripped the third screw in a row. My neighbor came over and asked why I was using the pointed bits for pilot holes instead of the flat ones. I had been using the same worn-out bit for every single pilot hole since I bought my drill last fall, and it was drilling holes too big. Got a $12 set of brad point bits and the screws went in clean the first time. What tool have you been using wrong without knowing it?
Did you check if your drill is spinning the right way? I spent a whole afternoon cussing at stripped screws before my buddy flipped the switch from reverse to forward. Felt like a complete idiot but man those screws went in like butter after that.