[subzero1313]

Read, read, read. Best.advice.possible. Im not saying it to be mean, but just read and be careful, youre potentially bricking a $600 thing of beauty. First off, youre SIM unlocked. To run a ROM you need to be software unlocked. For that you need the HSPL. BAsically download the HSPL, connect your phone via activesync. Run HSPL. Download your ROM of choice, run said ROM.

As for what ROM, Im a Mighty kind of guy. Very stable, very fast. But hey, once youre unlocked you can flash to any ROM you want. Play around a bit, see what feels good to you

Hard reset completely wipes your phone back to factory settings.

Backing up your phone, I use SPB backup. Demo is free, I bought the full version for $25

Hope I helped