For what its worth: I piece with Aurifil or Prescenia thread. I've never used King Tut as I have plenty of the other. Machine piece with either an 80 or 70 needle. For quilting as a longarmer before retiring I used A&E thread and a larger needle on my Gammill. On my home machine sometimes I still use my A&E thread and a larger needle.
Aurifil and Prescenia thread is made from a long staple cotton and has Much less fuzz than the stuff you can get at Wallyworld, etc. My machines love those threads. I have Singer, several Babylocks, and a Bernina. No problems in any of my machines.
If your older threads break easily please throw them away.
Just a tip: you no not need every thread in the rainbow to piece your quilt tops. I use: white, natural, lt gray, dark gray and black.
I hope this has been helpful.