[RC-Monster Mike]

The heat is due to the amps you are drawing. On six cells, in order to make the power, the system has to draw high amps. If you cut the gearing in half and used the cells in series, the truck would run cooler AND have more power. The cells were wired in parallel, so they shared the amp draw, which no doubt minimized the temps. For the brakes, when you lost them, were they gone for the rest of the run, or did they disappear and reappear? This may be a result of the heat as well, but it is somewhat baffling.