I don't and never have had that problem of the screen not fully waking up. Whether I use the power button to turn off the screen or psShutXP to turn the display off, it always come back on the way it should, which in my case is 100% brightness. I gotta go with something that you've done.
Anyone else have this issue?
I had seen MM new start menu mod before and it does look cool, but like you said it's still too buggy for me.
Even if I ever do use that and even though CHT v2.0 is out, I will never lose the Programs Tab. I love it! I've loved it since my Mogul Manila 2D days. I was soooo happy when Kimi made is mod for 2.5. I'll be honest, I rarely use it, but I still love having it back. It's just one of those things, sorry
At least you can disable it now without another start menu link.