I ended up getting a replacement from where I bought it (bang good). While waiting I got the turnigy branded version from hobby king . No issues with either of these running AA batteries.

Thanks for the input. Next time I do a hk order I will probably do a small two or three cell and give it one more try. I took it apart and found no issues. One good thing to note is my turnigy model syncs wih non-gyro receivers just fine!