Hi Judy,
Sorry, I've got nothing on that yet, but I hear you about the tubing being a pain. Who knew it could slide around so much once it was in or that pushing it in would be such a pain? I've got a dvd from Grace and they make it look so easy!
I think I've seen threads on here about duct taping it to the poles or using velcro. Velcro sounds like a good idea, since it would be easier to switch leaders when doing a smaller quilt.