Sounds like the steep turns are mostly the change of sight picture issue. From the right seat, rolling into a LH steep turn you will see more ground than you are used to an start to climb almost without thinking about it. When I was doing them I found that starting out if at 30* bank I rolled the trim one complete turn of nose up trim, then a little more, and added 2-4inMAP it helped me maintain the altitude very well with little work required. Like I said, it helped me...what works for one pilot may not work for another.
Also, try different power settings, no one power setting will work, each day with different temperatures will mean a different power setting.