Me,
I have traveled with Pico half a dozen times in the past two years. The first trip, I asked my vet for a tranquilizer just in case Pico didn't do well. He suggested I give him 1/4 of a tablet before the day of the trip to see how Pico handled it. I did and I just hated what it did to him so I didn't give it to him the day of our trip and he did just fine.
He never liked the carrier, either, and I had tried everything for several weeks to get him accustomed to it but he always tried to claw his way out of the mesh sides and made a mess of them. But once on the plane and the engines started, he settled down and was fine the whole way.
Like you, I was a nervous wreck about the trip but now it is a piece of cake. Here's a couple of tips to make your trip easier:
Make sure your shoes, clothing, etc. will all pass through security without sounding the alarm so you don't have to go back and start taking things off or get scanned manually. If you have a zipper or metal on your clothing and can take it off before going through the scanner, do so. I wear rubber soled shoes with no metal decorations or arch and usually wear clothing that has no metal whatsoever. Same with jewelry. It's just so much easier traveling with Pico if I keep things simple.
Take your furbaby out of his carrier and send the carrier through the scanner along with your purse, etc. Leave his halter off (you don't put a collar on a Maltese anyway) and carry him through security in your arms. Be prepared to have a crowd around you :lol: And watch the eyes light up and the smiles on the security people when they see jong-ee
I put Pico's halter on once we're past security and leash him and let him stay out of the carrier while waiting to board so he doesn't have to spend so much time in the carrier.
When boarding, I hold the carrier high in front of me so the flight attendants can see Pico. If they ooh and aaah, there is a good chance they will be cool about it if you take him out during flight and let him sleep on your lap. If their eyes glaze over, don't even try it. On one flight, Pico slept on my lap for several hours and the attendants didn't even notice him until later. They may have thought he was a sweater on my lap or something.
Since I am familiar with DFW I always take him out for a potty break if there is enough time between flights. I found where a patch of grass is at Departures and I head for that. Jong-ee may not be able to hold it for 7 hours so it is good you added pee pads to the carrier.
Relax. It's going to be fine and you are going to love traveling with your furbaby. Let us all know how your trip went.