I can guarantee you that your experience would've been different with the 8ight buggy and not because it's a Losi but rather because it's a standard (or proper depending on ones view) 1/8 platform. You would learn how to tune a standard carb and not that Mickey Mouse traxxas one, you could buy any standard engine down the line and drop it right in, you can used standard 1/8th clutches, pipes, bump boxes, etc, etc.

I'm not claiming you wouldn't have run into issues, you are admittedly new and don't know how to tune well (no insult intended) so you WILL run into issues but tuning a Traxxas carb may teach you bad techniques you will have to undo later.