I am trying to add a new vertex with a property whose value is a huge string. This is by using gremlin_python. Sample code:
vertex = g.addV(label).next()
res = g.V(vertex).property('key', 'this_is_a_huge_string')
I sense that your problem is that you are not iterating your second traversal:
vertex = g.addV(label).next()
res = g.V(vertex).property('key', 'this_is_a_huge_string').next()
Note that this is better written as a single statement as:
vertex = g.addV(label).property('key', 'this_is_a_huge_string').next()