1) I did a carb cycle bulk with 3J last year and got great results too. If you stopped gaining weight for 15days the blame is the diet. You probably kept your diet static but with increased weight and lbm, your TDEE increases and you're forced to eat more.
2) if you're running aromasin as your Aromatase inhibitor (AI) you will need to do ED dosing not EOD. You didn't mention an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) in OP but you will need one.
3) yes HCG mimics the LH signal in the testes while bypassing the pituitary. It will get your tastes producing small amounts of endogenous testosterone, enough so they won't shrink. It's better to run HCG during your cycle from day 1 at 250ius 2x/wk and stop 4days before post cycle therapy (pct).
4) your genetic predisposition has little to do with this, it's your lack of eating. If you gain weight to the point of requiring 4500calories, you need to eat that much to maintain weight otherwise you'll lose weight obviously. I myself am on a test e cycle at the moment. I'm 5'10" @ 210lbs currently and have a demanding job and between 3J and I we figured I needed 4500 cals just to keep gaining. I know what you mean, it's tough to eat that but if you want the mass you have to do it. There's no way around that fact. Now fat doesn't require energy per se bc it's stored energy so when you cut back down and reduce fat your TDEE should drop somewhat along with it.
5) I believe test p should be ran around 8wks, maybe 10the longest but generally around 8wks bc it's a short acting ester. An option would be to do a 4-5wk prop kick start while still pinning enanthate so you'll get prop kicking in almost immediately then when you stop it the enanthate will take over. EQ has a very long half life so you will want to drop it before you finish with test. Maybe 2wks before stopping test.
6) I wasn't trying to say you said the gear was bunk but the way you worded your OP "so I'm hoping this map will get me to where I want to be" made it seem like you expect vastly different results. The truth is what you keep is dependent on diet, training and post cycle therapy (pct) not the gear itself. That's what I meant.
Also if you looked very different at the end of wk 2 on a test e only cycle, your Aromatase inhibitor (AI) dose was not enough. That's water weight that you gained that early not muscle. What Aromatase inhibitor (AI) did you use and what kind of dosing?
