Couple things you said there that struck me...
Base Weight...
The bases on the throttle and stick (at least on mine) have screw holes so you can bolt the things down. If base-weight is an issue for you, maybe think about getting yourself a nice piece of wood to attach em too. I was actually very impressed that Saitek designed them to be mounted.
Not knowing which button is assigned...
On your throttle, there's an "i" thumb button that if you press it down you'll notice the light strobes. The "i" is for info, and when it's strobing, you can press other buttons and the name of the button assignment will appear on your LCD as you press/activate them. In fact, I think even without that button depressed, the LCD will display the name of the button as you press it. I think the i strobe feature just captures it so it's not sent to the game or something if you just want to test. I'd have to go re-read my manual to give a better description.
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