I had lots of trouble also...........setting the Past Meridian Flip as far as possible past 1 is one idea , mine is 8, that might get you closer to start with after the Flip ( do this only if safe !!!. NO CRASHES !!!!). Also, the centering routine I set VERY high , like 20 (I know , that is a pain). It will show the same result a few times then suddenly "SNAP" to a much closer result and go from there. Also, download the very latest version of SGP, it seems more able to center successfully after the Flip with less tries . I have a portable setup on a Tripod. According to others , it is the backlash that is causing the problem.
Hope this helps