Thanks Kevin and Eden for the kind and encouraging words and assistance. It's much appreciated! I do indeed have the 2" adapter to hang the DSLR from the rear of the tube without the star diagonal and will use that next time.
I'm amazed about the CG-5 DEC / weight error! This is good news in a sense.. in that my process is ok... but I risk divorce if I spend any more money on this hobby
Hopefully without the star diagonal and a little more time spent balancing I can get rid of the DEC drift otherwise I'm stuck! Unbelievable that the scope can be overloaded using the very same 3 weights provided with the mount! It seems balanced to me, it doesn't move no matter where I position the OTA before locking it down and I give it a slight touch more weight on the opposing side for the motor to work against (I've read this is the right thing to do?).
Super grateful for the feedback. You've both probably saved me hours of digging around!
Dylan.