Dennis,
I might have a couple of tidbits for you, after reading about your adventures "on the dark side". You mentioned that the RPM as set in the timer programmer were different from RPM as measured by a tach. I noticed that you are using a Talon 60 ESC (by the way, a Talon 35 would be sufficient), and might have an explanation. If your programmer doesn't have a menu option for a "Talon HIGH RPM" mode, this is an older version. Will Hubin offers an updated chip for the programmer (less than $10, I think) which has the new "Talon HIGH RPM" mode, and then your programmed and actual RPM will match to within < 50 RPM.
Also, to increase the line tension further, increase the outboard motor offset to 3 - 3.5 degrees; the difference between 2 and 3 degrees outboard is substantial, and I did not observe any negative side effects.