Since many others of you may dive in the same locations, this may not be as big of a thing for you as it is for me. But, I'd love to hear others experiences and if they deal with this too.
I don't get to travel all that much but locally my dives range from trunks in freshwater to full drysuit insulation in the ocean.
If you keep meticulous records of gear, weight, water and proposed changes you will become predictable in your set-up.
Over time that 1st dive instability will lessen especially when you splash with a working set-up.
Pete