I use a 849x as well and love it. What size were your pads? Reason I ask is it for me thin 5.5" CCS pads are really grabby, but the thicker 6.5" pads are much easier to control. I've tried the HT, Flat, CCS and MF pads.
I've recently switched to 5.5" hex logic pads w/ a 5" Flex backing plate...