Sounds like I definitely need to get the old straight edge out and mark neutral on my indicators. I could see where the indicators could be off/different from boat to boat.

I always ran tabs at 5 and drive in coming on plane. Once the boat comes up bring the tabs up to 2-2.5 then start trimming the drive. My 27 liked to run the drive a touch over 4 cruising and would start to get loose around 4.5 at wot. Tabs at 3 should be about parallel with the bottom on yours - I always ran mine there unless really stringing it out and in some chop I'd run them 3.5. All boats are different. You're just going to have to get some seat time and figure out what yours likes and what you prefer as well.

Thanks for the input guys. I'll get a chance to actually spend some decent time in it this weekend with 3 days off coming up. That will give me a chance to mark everything with it on the trailer and then go run it.

at cruising speed I put my drive at 3 or 4 and the tabs at 2 to 3 and at about 3800 to 4200 RPM's

Watch this video about 20 times before you're next outing. Reggie explains some key points about his boats and the controls.

Fountain Powerboats - Secret to Speed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Qzsf6aZpk

When I had my 27', I got in the habit early on to bring the drive in and tabs down, anytime I came off plane. That way I was ready to take off when necessary. The only change to that was nearing a docking situation, I always raised the tabs to neutral - for me it just made backing it up easier. I do the same with the bigger boat.

Additionally the switch layout is such that you can raise (or lower) the drive / tabs simultaneously, as they react opposite of activating the switches (one switch up / one switch down). That allows for you to keep your right hand on the steering wheel. You can use these switches for both getting on plane and coming to rest. Once you get the hang of it, its quite easy to incrementally raise the drive / tabs as needed (and not all or nothing).

Both of these tips came from a buddy who was a Fountain owner also - so that helped me tremendously.

Well I had a chance to spend the whole day on the water this past Saturday and do some learning. I had a lot more success this trip from taking everyone's advice on what to do and look for. Thanks for the help.