Thanks for your feedback mate. I do hope there aren't any "bad" GM8.
I'd be pulling my hair out.
Losmandy gear is supposedly difficult to get and there's a waiting list on deliveries as it is my understanding they manufacture only limited quantities every year, and that's world-wide.
The EQ6 though is mostly available off the shelf (made and assembled in China mostly), so my feeling is it's the popular and cheaper alternative. I have no doubt the finish doesn't even comes close to Losmandy stuff but I hope the gears and mechanic are pretty close so I can get decent and smooth tracking to start with when I autoguide.
As far backslash goes it is only an issue when you reverse RA or DEC, for aligning right? Would PEC affect tracking enough for autoguiding not being able to compensate? In other words, tracking that is not smooth enough or jerky via mechanical problems would show up even with an auto guiding software doing the corrections?