Glad you still got an airplane! A pitchy hog is not a happy hog for sure. Some of the same things I went through (except the rearward cg thing)....A generous dose of exponential is also in order if you haven't already ....minimum of 20, and I am not so sure if i wouldn't go 30 on elevator... You mentioned where you set the cg eariler, but my plans are stored so the inchs were unknown values to me. Percentage wise I think I am about 29 % .....A little over half way back if i remember right. My hog was almost impossible to handle without exponential with throws set at recommended high rates . On approach it would pitch up and slow to stall speed in a heartbeat especially with a low idle the time or two I flew it in the beginning with no exponential. If your cg is too far aft...the loose throttle cable might have helped saved you.,.. You might have been keeping in some spare power down final without realizing it. One of the for sure deadly zones with an aft cg is when you loose the prop wash over the tail on approach... real easy to stall it in an instant pitch up......I would think anyway.