A t2lt is a near center fed dipole, and should have essentially the same pattern as a center fed dipole. However, as a vertical dipole, both sides won't be perfectly in balance like a horizontal dipole as the earth below will always have more of an effect on the lower leg of said dipole than the higher leg. The t2lt also has two legs of different diameters, which will also cause some balance issues. If modeled in free space this *might* change the angle of radiation up by a degree or three.
To put this angle in perspective, a 5/8 wavelength antenna in freespace has an angle of about 5 degrees above the horizon (pulling from memory, may be off a bit). If you are looking for dx over local contacts, in my opinion a freespace angle of around 5 degrees or even a little higher is better than a pattern where the peak is on the horizon, so its entirely possible a 5/8 wavelength end fed antenna will be the best option when it comes to dx. I want to point out again that this last part is opinion, but that opinion is based heavily on modeling, and some experience as well.
All this being said, when it comes to antennas balance isn't a big concern to me. I know some people insist that it is all important, but I am not one of those people. For me its just getting current to flow where it is supposed to flow, and as little as possible at other locations. If balance was all important, there wouldn't be anything like an off center fed dipole, or even any vertical antenna as all vertical antennas are unbalanced antennas.
I have made several t2lt antennas in the past, and one time I had an issue with it I made another one and it worked fine. The t2lt design seems to be very picky when it comes to some aspects, especially if you are using a coaxial choke. More recently I tend to use ferrite chokes, and since I started using said ferrite chokes I haven't had one issue with them. One thing you might try is if you have a problem, put a second choke about 9 feet down from the first choke on the feed line, if something changes, then you either have a problem with the first choke, or the feed line is a very unlucky length and is causing problem with how the choke works. Part of why I tend to use ferrite is coax chokes are reactance based, and are far more sensitive to said things than ferrite chokes, which for me tend to work better in most circumstances.
As far as efficiency, the t2lt is about as efficient of a design you can have. There is no matching network involved, and it goes straight from coax into antenna.
It is possible that the t2lt might not be the right antenna for you location for whatever reason. This also happens. There are plenty of examples in prior posts where one person insists that one specific antenna is always better than another specific antenna, then another person will come on and say that he had the opposite experience with these same antennas. It could be 10 to 1 against a group of people on which antenna is better all based on personal experiences, but they will sometimes even fight to the point that it becomes personal to them. In reality, both sides can be right for their own circumstances. So if you find yourself moving from, say, a heavily mountainous region to, say, an area of fertile farmlands, or vice versa, or even any other different type of location, it may be in your best interest to try out antennas that didn't work so well before. You may be surprised at the results.
The DB
