Do you LOSE excess energy gained above and beyond your capacity before you have a chance to allocate?

If I have a ship with quad laser cannons with zero energy but the ship itself is at max energy and then perform a maneuver and gain energy can the excess energy be allocated to the quad lasers before they are lost?

Yes you lose excess energy. You cannot gain energy above the amount on the ship card.

Which means that when you start the game with full energy, you'll lose any that you would of normally gained with your first maneuver.

You gain energy from the maneuver before you can allocate it.

During the first round of the game you can spend one energy on engine booster. Then the maneuver can gain you one energy.

Thank you for the answers