About Sprite backup having 'funkiness'... I've had really good luck with SPB Backup, but more recently, I've switched to using the backup and restore features built into SK Tools. It's not as pretty as SPB, but seems to work better. Plus, you don't have to buy the full version of SK Tools to use it. Just download the trial version, on which many things ARE limited, but the backup/restore feature is fully enabled!
The ONLY problem I have with this method, and I haven't looked too far into because it hasn't bothered me, is it does not back up messages. When I restore a backup, my SMS's are gone, and I have to re-set up my email account, which immediately re-pulls down any recent emails, so no harm done, just a extra seconds.
Other than that, all my apps and settings are restored perfectly, and it's like no hard reset was ever done
