As you stated, your model is not for stunt for the stunt event. Now, you might be considering to do various maneuvers (inverted, loops and figure eights) in the scale event. (After all it is a Citabria, the full size ship is stressed to be fully aerobatic).
It is interesting to note that Dick Mathis did a profile Citabria designed for Stunt. (Flying Models, April, 1973) His design had the bellcrank in the wing, dihedral, no flaps, with the leadouts coming out the wing tip. About a 52" span for .29 to .40 engines. In his article, Mathis wrote about all of the supposed taboos against a high wing stunt ship. He wrote that it "flies just fine. In fact, it flies just like any other good sport stunter, or better than most." Mathis used the "Equivalent of 10 pennies" in the outboard wing tip. If you are not planning to fly your Citabria in a stunt contest, you do not have to worry about optimum flight trimming for keeping the wing from doing strange things in inside and outside loops and inverted flying.
There is another construction article by Michael Garmon for what he calls "HI-Cub/Citabria" inj Flying Models, March, 1997. There are two models here representing a Citabria and a Cub, built up fuselages, .40 size engines, high wings, flaps, no dihedral, bellcrank and leadouts in the wings. Flew and placed in an Intermediate competition in high winds.
I am aware of several people building the Bob Palmer/Ted Goyet Hi Boy. (Model Airplane News, August, 1954) This has a high wing, no dihedral, flaps, bellcrank and leadouts in the wing, designed for stunt. Some have experienced the outboard tip flying high upright and down while inverted but still capable of flying the pattern. Some of that could be minimized by small trim tabs on the wing TE. Certainly a more desirable and more simple solution than placing the bellcrank in the fuselage and leadouts though a guide suspended below the wing.
So, these high wing airplanes can fly with the bellcrank and leadouts in the wing. They might not give stellar Nats winning performance in stunt, but for scale, they can be made to fly without going to the problem of mounting the bellcrank in the fuselage and having to deal with a leadout guide suspended beneath the wing somewhere.
Good luck with whatever your decision is.
Keith