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I'm a newbie to the (N)EQ6 too, having received mine last month, and have often faced similar grief. I don't know if what I'm doing is right, but here it is in case it helps.
The culprit for me has usually been either (really) poor polar alignment, or turning on the mount when it's not in home position.
To get a rough polar alignment (good enough for visual use only), I use a compass and the EQ6's built-in bubble level. I find that it's more accurate (for me) than going by the Southern Cross/Pointers, plus I can do it during the day before sunset.
When I can see enough stars, I turn on the EQ6 without performing its built in alignment. Instead, I drift align the mount using my guide scope and PHD auto guiding software (lots of articles available online) - the feedback is virtually instant.
After careful alignment, I then put the mount into home position, turn the power on again, and then go through the three star alignment process. Alignment on the first star is usually a shocker (outside the field of view of my 28 mm eyepiece at 33x magnification), the second isn't too bad, and often the third is surprisingly accurate (e.g. inside the field of view of my 4 mm eyepiece at 231x).
By the way, the order that the alignment stars are chosen seems to be really important for the EQ6. For example, if my polar alignment is a bit out, starting with Alpha Cen usually gives me no end of grief with failed alignments. On the other hand, starting with Antares is usually successful for me.
Hope this helps!
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