it DID fly off the track a couple of times before it was shut down. Wheels were set back on the car so it didn't turn until it appeared like it was going straight - right off the tracks. Scary as hell - I think I rode it once and that was enough.

Once was much more than enough, thank you.

...Beech Bend park in Kentucky.
I think I was around 13.
The thing constantly felt like it was going to tip over edge on the 90 & hairpin turns at the top.
I had the exact same sensation you did.
My younger cousin (young girl at the time) was screaming nearly the whole 50 or so seconds of the ride.
The boy cousin just a little younger than me didn't scream, but he had to pry his hands off the hold bar & could barely catch his breath at ride's end.
It was a pretty intense ride.

That initial series of switchbacks at the top was really scary.