My pet peeve after setting up the plane is the throttle curve. By that I mean that when I move the stick one click I want to hear a change in engine rpm of at least a couple of hundred. This allows me to fine tune the harrier, hover and T/R for different conditions. From profile to 40%, the wind usually dictates what's needed in those maneuvers for me. Can you hold it steady in a hover without moving or pulsing the throttle? If you're really working hard my first impression is that you may be chasin the throttle. I like to move the throttle as little as possible to keep the other sticks under control. JR and Futaba handle the solutions to the curve differently. I have both the 9ZAPS and the 10X and work it out on both, no problem.
Anyway, just my views and they work for me.
Happy Holidays_bob