yea it is really...really hard to get "lower end" pedals equal. I use pearl p122tw and have gotten them decently equal. Being my left foot is the slower foot I set my right side first, make it comfy and amazing, then just get the left side as close as possible and make my left side live with teh tension and bounce back :P
As far as strap based pedals go...I have an old pearl pedal that uses a leather strap...favorite pedal ever
It was my first pedal and when teh strap broke, lol, duct tape fixed it just like new :P Did that a couple times until I got my new set which is when I switched to chain driven pedals...dunno if I'd wanna go back to straps.