I started foiling in August on the Black and White. Two months later I was still having trouble foiling through transistions so I bought the Carver wing. The Carver wing was so much easier since it comes up onto the foil at a much lower speed and you can almost come to a dead stop while transitioning without dropping off the foil.
After 3 months on the Carver I'm looking for more speed during transitions and just put the Black wing back on my foil for my next session.
I'd recommend starting with the Carver wing. My friends who ride the original Liquid Force foil have no issue jumping onto my foil with the Carver wing since it seems to stay on a plane just as easy.
I'm just a beginner when it comes to foiling but I think the Carver wing is much more stable than the original Liquid Force foil.
I ride only with a NSI front hook mount as far forward as possible but my feet are pretty much dead centered over the foot strap inserts on my 5'4" Slash board.
I would start with the front and rear straps centered on the inserts.