I would say that if I'd had a hard time figuring

[EngLearner]

Suppose someone asks me about when it would be appropriate to use the phrase "I've got it!". I reply to them with the following:

1. I would say that if I'd had a hard time figuring something out but then had a eureka moment.
2. I would say that if I had a hard time figuring something out but then had a eureka moment.

Can either sentence be used in this case? I'm wondering about the tenses in bold.

 

[emsr2d2]

In that context, and of those two options, I'd use only the past perfect. When you look at the sequence of events the "having a hard time" happened before the other two events.
1. Have a hard time figuring it out.
2. Have a eureka moment.
3. Say "I've got it!"

Note that if I were uttering that sentence in real life, I'd keep that tense but I'd use the continuous because usually figuring something out is a relatively long process.

I'd say that if I'd been having a hard time figuring something out but then I had a eureka moment.

 

[EngLearner]

Is sentence #2 incorrect?

As I see it, we can imagine a point in the future to which it would be possible to relate the simple form "had":

I'd say "I've got it!" if (some time from now at time A) I had a hard time figuring something out but then (some time later than time A) I had a eureka moment.

As far as I know, when talking about a specific time in the future, we don't use the past perfect.