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I had this problem a lot when I first started doing 3's. I landed my first one on accident because I popped too hard on a 1. But then after that I was landing backseat. But I figured out, pop harder, don't huck your head by looking over your shoulder, and around 240ish start spotting your landing. And as stupid as this sounds, hit your chin on your shoulder blade, I found that to work for me.
And for the "which grab is easiest?" question. I really like opposite direction mutes. I think same direction mutes are way harder (maybe that's just me). Like when I spin left, my right arm is right center with my left ski (if I cross) and its like right there, not much movement to find the ski.