finger foods...frustrated

JJ1973

I feel like I'm doing something wrong. LO is going on 10 months and still not doing well with finger foods or even foods with a different lumpy textures. I've tried bananas, sweet potato fries, bits of fruit. He's mastered puffs, but with the rest, gags and ultimately throws up. Tonight, he almost choked on a piece of fruit (it was more than the usual gagging and scared the heck out of me). I really keep my cool and I keep trying, despite my constant fear of him choking (I know the gagging is part of the learning process) but it is so frustrating and nerve wracking. Couple questions:

How big do you make your pieces and have you found this relates to degree of gagging?

Were there foods that were less gag-able than others? Any recommendations over what I could try?