What happened to my mix?

DOVESKI wrote:when i play my beat next to chronic 2001 instrumental on iTunes, i got to go back into PT to rework that. and it can be done its nothing.

Funny you say that cause that is one of my favorite reference cd's.
"Safe and Sound" by QUIK is another favorite reference cd.

They are the epitome of mastering to me.

Yeah, you are probably dealing with the hardware characteristics more than bad techniques.
In that type of situation you either upgrade your front end of learn to compensate for it.
It's cool that you found something that works without having to hit the bank.