Hi rocknmayhem,
I haven'nt been on this site for ages, I'm currently building a custom excavator which I've posted the build on scale 4x4. I encountered the same problem trying to control all the operations with a 6 channel radio, but with some hints and tips from other fellow R/C-er's I found this solution (please check my build thread, it may be of some use
http://www.scale4x4rc.org/forums/showthread.php?t=69020 )
Happy building!
