i want to use the stock elevator and rudder pushrods in my ultra stick lite because i don't want to have to recover the fuse after replacing them with golden rods or similar but the stock metal ones see, to bind a bit in their tubes. anyone put powdered graphite or something else in to reduce friction?

Yup, sometimes.

I've got a lube that's spray Molybdenum-dysulfide. The spray is just for application as the carrier evaporates off right away. The moly is like a smart graphite. It is supposedly attracted to the metal and locks into the pores. It isn't graphite by any means, but looks a lot like it. And does a great job on some metals. I think it's more for metal to metal contact however. I don't like to use graphite as it seems to wind up all over everything after awhile, and this moly seems to stay where it's put lots better.

I've also used silicone spray and think it might be better than anything but don't know the chemistry of our pushrod systems. I have a feeling that the combination of steel pushrods and various plastic tubes is a bit of a problem. Some plastics might be harmed by petroleum lubes, might not be lubricated at all by powders and metal lubes, etc etc. Like I said, I don't know the chemistry. But I'm betting that the soft plastic used in the tubes won't lubricate worth the effort.

But the silicone spray seemed to me to be the best idea. Silicone shouldn't hurt the plastic at all and it's carrier seems to vanish. And it should lubricate the metal ok.

I found a jell at Radio Shack that sounded like it is innocuous to plastics. It also advertises that it's "sticky" and stays put. I use braided cable in flexible plastic tube for my motor control "rod" and wipe the cable down with the stuff. It seems to help on those installations where there has to be a lot of snaking around gas tanks etc and the cable isn't totally free in the tube. It's called Lube Jell, I think.