Update: I love this joystick. All the issues I had were the result of me not being careful enough and not fully understanding setup, was too used to the simplicity of the CH. The only negative I now have is that I found 1 tiny lock washer missing that should be there, trivial.
It really is pretty easy to setup this stick in Aces high if you 1. Carefully follow the calibration steps listed in the link you provided Drano. And 2. you carefully make sure the AH key mappings are consistent as you pointed out Easy.
Am very much enjoying the stick. It holds calibration well now that I've correctly calibrated it. It feels smooth and precise as you explained in detail Mayhem.
I swapped out the stock #20 springs for single #10 springs, and like you Bixby decided I like the hard center aviation cams better, at least for now.
Thanks everyone for your help in setting up, and understanding this thing better!
So good for now, I may be back for more tips if I decide to venture into the VKB software one of these days.