It sounds like you are not lifting the tongue high enough when you put the bars on... I lift my trucks rear end up several inches once the original TW comes off the ball... Electric tongue jack is great! :)
I still need the 'cheater bar' to put snap up my bars (I have chains, so I can adjust tension on the fly..). With you Equalizer setup, you have to raise the L brackets a bit more IMO so you can put more tension on your bars..
I used an EQ brand hitch many moons ago and we had to raise the tongue quite high to get the bars on. We didn't have a cheater bar, so had to rely on the lift to get the bars to clear the L brackets. Worked great and towed great too..
Anyway, get the trucks front end fixed up and run more tension on the bars and you should notice a difference! :)
Good luck!
Mitch
