[windtrader]

as a workaround, not as good though, couldn't you set the backlight level to minimum which basically turns it off and disable having the backlight turn off? seems like it would minimize current draw while still running the gps.

If you have a gps app using the gps then it is still going to stop when the phone goes into standeby so having the gps running will not be useful. If you want to use the gps in the phone as an external device to something else like a pc, I'm not sure the connectivity functions while the phone is in standby. For example, it seems unlikely the usb data will not pass when the phone is in standby as it seems the phone would shut this service off.