BMathews,
How did you conclude the CG of the model in question was set too far forward? The original poster doesn't have the plane in the air yet. He was referring to the model's reputation "in general". The plane's reputation might be suffering from any one of a host of maladies: poorly matched wing lift/weight, excessive decalage setup, insufficient downthrust.
Another point: Adding downthrust actually helps reduce pitch-up caused by thrust moment in high-wings. Further, chopping the throttle of a plane with downthrust will cause it to momentarily pitch UP, not down.

Regarding constant climbing planes, fiddling with elevator trim etc. Is this some new form of macho? "only real men fight their airplanes"(LOL). I prefer to control mine with dynamic feedback. Regards.