i am going to need one... now. i didn't put one on before because i assumed the max amount of current the base of 2N2222 would draw was well under the current draw the 555 was rated for. But now i know better. With an hFE of 5, at 10A.... that means the 3055 will draw (or try to) 3 amps of power from the 2N2222. Its not rated for this amount of current. It will burn up... whether it will burn itself out before taking out my 555, i dont know. Being as the current draw should be around 150mA at 3A collector draw (which it will never acheive) from the 2N2222, the chip should survive long enough for the transistor to fail.
I think i'll simply do another step up.. run the 2N2222 to another transistor rated to 3A... and run that to the 3055.
The circuit actually works under a small load (i've tested up to 2A). Where i will run into problems is if i attempt to run a load close to 10A. That's when the stuff will be driven past tolerance.