How to adjust alpha color of particle system main module during runtime (shuriken)?

Hello,

I am trying to make my particle system "fade out" so that it's totally transparent during runtime (I can do it in the shaders, but the particular shader I'm using doesn't allow this to work in the material/shader itself).

I noticed that if I set the "Start Color" alpha property on the main particle system module, it works before the game starts (and in realtime in the editor), however adjusting the "Start Color" alpha during the game does not affect the alpha transparency, unless I de-activate and re-activate the gameobject/particle system really quick.

The "Start Color" alpha only seems to work at the "Start" of the game oddly enough :) But, is there some way to adjust the alpha color of the main particle system itself during runtime?

Here is some of the code I've tried unsuccessfully:

     // In the Start function
     topOfTornado31_ParticleSystem = GameObject.Find("MegaFlow Source/TornadoParticleSystem2 (2)/TopOfTornadoParticle1 (31)").GetComponent<ParticleSystem>();
 
    // In the Update function
     var main31 = topOfTornado31_ParticleSystem.main;
     
                     //main31.startColor = new Color(1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f, number1);
                     Color color5 = new Color(1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f, number1);
                     main31.startColor = new ParticleSystem.MinMaxGradient(color5);

The alpha currently shows itself at the value I set, but does not update or set the particle system accordingly during runtime (again, unless I disable and re-enable the entire particle system/gameobject).