I'm also new to using a Longarm, and I have also spent many hours using a seam ripper. If the loopies are on the bottom, it's your upper tension that's messed up. For me, I discovered that I hadn't put the tension bar down regularly. If you can easily pull your thread through your needle when you are ready to sew, you're gonna have a problem. Tension bar UP while threading the machine, then put it down. If you're thread still pulls through the needle without any resistance, you don't have any tension on the top at all. Also, try turning your tension wheel clock-wise a half turn to see if that helps.
I was so frustrated the first time I used my machine, that I refused to even look at it for 2 months. I was so afraid that I had just wasted $6000 on an over-sized paper weight. Once I finally figured out all of my tension and threading issues, I can happily report that I have now completed 8 quilts on my machine!
Good luck!