Andrew,
"I had a big in the ground. But after 8 years in ground with no flowers and the past 2 years, about 30% die back, I decided to axe and plant something more productive."
Don't kill your larger tree, just cut it down to the height you want and a few feet more, then wait until you get new shoots or do a bark graft on the stumped tree with some good varieties from me or other forum members here. This way you can get fruits in 1-2 yrs just like an adult loquat tree would fruit, in 2 years after grafting that tree will give you many fruits faster than any new tree you plant. If you want it in a larger pot, just dig it out after your grafted scion wood is growing (1-2 ft).