Mike,
I'm sure different people have different approaches, but I agree with Sky High, I'd rather hover nose-in, because somehow it just seems more comfortable. Or maybe it's just because it's supposed to be so "hard", when it's really not. Anyway, here's my approach. The main thing is you don't have time to analyze reverse actions - your responses must be immediate and direct.

First, trim out your DF tail-in so that it lifts off evenly.

Your left stick will not change its function at all for throttle/yaw, so it's the right hand we will concentrate on. Keep the DF's beady little eyes looking directly at you at all times. This is important.

I consider the nose-in hover to be a SPECIAL CASE. The goal is simply to maintain the DF in a hover when it's facing me directly.

1. Say to yourself mentally: "NOSE IN RULES", whenever you're hovering nose-in, are about to enter a nose-in hover, and also periodically while you're in a nose-in hover. This is to establish, or re-inforce, the SPECIAL CASE RULES.

2. Now the "NOSE IN RULES" are incredibly simple: just MOVE THE STICK in the SAME DIRECTION as the DF moves. So if it starts to drift away from you, you move the stick away from you. As it comes towards you, move the stick towards you. As long as you keep the nose directly pointed towards you, move the stick in any direction the DF moves.

I think of this like it's dancing with the heli. Like dancing with a partner, you move in the same direction as she does. You will find that when you tell yourself "NOSE IN RULES", it becomes really easy to shift into this mode. It does not conflict with the "normal rules", because they have a completely different feel. When you have forward motion, like flying in figure-eights, it's pretty easy to stay oriented with roll, because it's more of a fluid set of movements. However, when you hover nose-in, it feels different, and you can easily get confused if you don't have a very simple and direct method of maintaining a stable hover. Remember to tell yourself "NOSE IN RULES" frequently, and keep your focus on the simple set of correcting responses.

The "NOSE IN RULES" are a tool that you can fall back on at any time. Once you've done it enough, it will begin to blend with the "Universal Orientation" concepts, but if and when this happens is not important. Once you start to feel comfortable with it, it has sort of a mesmerizing effect.

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Bruce