OK, figured out the cause of the rediculous push at the January race for my IGT. See picture. Notice massive amounts of metallic dust/shavings in the housing
Heli gear is worn down such that it still meshes a little with the diff but with a little force I can rotate the front wheels independent of the rear wheels and hear clicking. Basically means that under much power at all, the front had no power.
I'm assuming this caused the night and day difference I felt between the last time I ran the car last season and this race. Because I was on a track I had never run on, I did everything I could do adjust setup but still found no steering. This was the culprit I believe.
The car been pretty reliable / long-last so I think I made a mistake at some point in my build that caused the problem, no blame on Kyosho.
I'm still happy to be able to run some foams because Dave reported a lot more traction. More traction = more fun for me... I've already ordered the $35 set off ebay.