Thanks everbody for the replys. It makes me feel better knowing others have had the similar troubles with the struts.

I had a conversation with the other pattern flier at my field and he asked if I had too much toe in. I just checked my wheels and they are indeed toed in excessively now after the struts were bent last weekend. I will be sure to check this more closely with my next strut install. I plan to put a level on the wheel and align with the wing sitting on the wing root on level ground. Is this accurate enough?

The loop is on the aft side of the strut, but it only has one loop. I have noticed some struts have two loops. The total length of the strut is only 6-3/4".

Thanks again for all the info in this thread, the suggestions will keep me in experiments for a while.

Mitch