Hmmm, I have used Litchi with great results; it allowed me to make some clips that simply would not have been possible flying manually, especially when tracking the course of a 32 mile canal that I filmed in stages using litchi and stiched together. Orbits are also fantastic and allow pre-programming. I find it a great app. Mind you, I haven't really used it for tracking or with headsets at all.
However, I wonder; when you say the link was lost OP, I assume you mean the FPV link, right? You still would have had operational control I assume. You would have been flying right on the limit of a P3 Standard at 1000m. Did you try pressing the RTH button, or even turning off the controller? I fine these things pretty reliable these days. Maybe you could confirm the settings that you had? Or even better, since you got the P3 back, post up the .DAT file from the flight so that the experts can analyse exactly what happened and rule out any errors.
Here's that canal clip btw - it's long, but strangely mesmerising!