I am sorry to hear about your trouble. The Magic Extra definitely one of my favorite planes.

My CG was set up at 3.75 and the plane flew great. I have moved the battery back a little since.

Something is set-up wrong because If you can fly the Somethin' Extra then you should have no problem with the Magic Extra. It is an extremely forgiving plane and will slow down to a crawl....

If the Control throws are set to the low end of the recommended travel the plane is very stable and easy to fly. My plane has no bad tendencies.

How far is your elevator travel. Are your throws set too high? If you apply too much UP Elevator the plane will probably snap. I have dual rates on mine and it will snap on the extreme high end of elevator throw.