A large throat on a machine will definitely make it easier to maneuver your quilt when quilting. I like the quilting part even though I mostly do straight line, STID, and just recently some curves. I did just "go for it" with FMQ on 1 lap quilt and it looks horrible. I was tired of practicing but obviously need more practice. Ha! For now, for me, straight line and STID works best for me. Try working on small projects (maybe placemats) to see if you enjoy the quilting part more then you can move up to larger projects. You might just need to feel the satisfaction of doing a small piece well w/o a lot of hassle before going to a large quilt. But, hey, if you find you still don't like the quilting part, that's okay too.
Good luck!
Sharon