i too came from winmo to this phone and had the same issues when i first started using it. the battery life is terrible on mine cuz im running the updated cl14 system/modem with use wireless networks on and latitude which kill it cuz of a
bug.
i looked into getting startup auditor but wasn't sure it was the best route. the best solution, to work for me, is removing the stock apps which i will never use. although i back them up to my sdcard and can install them whenever needed, this at least prevents them from auto loading and auto reloading which frees up resources on my android.
the process requires the phone to be rooted, a custom kernel was the easiest way for me and there is a guide which worked great for me
here.