No.
Okay, back to basics.
1) In the options->controls->map controllers panel. Visually note the X and Y axis values in parantheses, when you are NOT touching the joystick. If they are not 32767 (or something really close to that value), then there is something wrong with the stick itself as it is not giving correct values to start with. It will never calibrate.
2) DO NOT ALT-F4 when you are in the options->controls->map controllers panel or it WILL blow away the entire joystick configuration, requiring you to start over again.
3) This is a little tricky. What we are looking for is the actual joystick config file in the game "settings" folder. See if it exists (it should be the name of the stick). If it does not, then something is preventing the game from writting that file to the drive.
From the game perspective, joysticks are pretty simple devices. The game deals with what the operating system gives us. It really is that simple.
You did not say it is was a wireless stick. If it is, then that tosses in a whole new level of possibilities on why it is doing this.
(1) Usually one or two axis are not 32767... maybe 32125 or so... Then alt-tab out of AH, calibrate with the Logitech calibration program, come back into AH and all three axis are 32767 or 32768. Then I calibrate using AH calibration option and my joystick then works great until I do one of two things... either leave AH and log for a while or alt-tab to web site (like the forums) for a little while and then come back in. I'd guess 1/3 of the time my js works fine after I leave AH, the other 2/3s of the time I have to recalibrate based on procedure above. If I don't leave AH and play for a long time, my js works great (does not lose calibration). It's only on leaving AH and coming back in that it gets messed up.
My js is about 2 months old... I get a new one every 3 or 4 months because I use it a lot and can tell when it is mechanially not working right anymore (ie I can't calibrate it at all or my hat switch gets worn out from checking six so often). I have the BestBuy 2 yr warranty so new jss are free for me.
(2) I've stopped using alt-F4
(3) The file does exist.
It is not wireless... I have it plugged into the back of my desktop via a usb port.
Here is the first part of the file (after having calibrated as described above):
Logitech Extreme 3D
4,32
Y Axis
0,32767,65535,0.018000,0.034000,0.250000
AXIS,PITCH,0,1
0.53,0.54,0.57,0.61,0.65,0.70,0.76,0.82,0.89,1.00
AXIS,PITCH,0,1
0.10,0.20,0.30,0.40,0.50,0.60,0.70,0.80,0.90,1.00
NOTUSED,NOTUSED,0,0
NOTUSED,NOTUSED,0,0
X Axis
0,32768,65535,0.017000,0.000000,0.250000
AXIS,ROLL,0,1
0.52,0.56,0.60,0.63,0.67,0.72,0.75,0.83,0.90,1.00
AXIS,ROLL,0,1
0.10,0.20,0.30,0.40,0.50,0.60,0.70,0.80,0.90,1.00
NOTUSED,NOTUSED,0,0
NOTUSED,NOTUSED,0,0
Z Rotation
0,32768,65535,0.012000,0.000000,0.250000
AXIS,YAW,0,1
0.38,0.44,0.48,0.52,0.57,0.65,0.73,0.81,0.91,1.00
AXIS,YAW,0,1
0.10,0.20,0.30,0.40,0.50,0.60,0.70,0.80,0.90,1.00
NOTUSED,NOTUSED,0,0
NOTUSED,NOTUSED,0,0
Slider
0,0,65535,0.050000,0.100000,0.250000
AXIS,THROTTLE_1,0,0
AXIS,THROTTLE_1,0,0
NOTUSED,NOTUSED,0,0
NOTUSED,NOTUSED,0,0
Hat Switch Fwd.