Help me pick my next Sprint Phone

[JohnMcD348]

OK, you guys/gals did really great for me awhile back in helping me pick a new phone to converge my Dell Axim and my Sprint Phone into one. I need that help again.

I've had a few minor issues with my HTC TP2 and now with Windows 7 out, I've decided to make the switch over to Droid since now nearly all the program I need/rely on have Droid versions.

This is what I want:
Sliding keyboard. I have large hands and fat fingers. The screen KB has never worked for me. when I used my Axim x51v, I always had a stylus and always wrote more than keyed.

Memory card expansion. I guess Micro SD is the standard to run by, most of my last few have has the Micro SD card in it so I have a few.

Prefer Dual core for speed and somewhat longer lifespan between upgrades. I'm usually the type of person who keeps a phone for years and don't see the need really in updating just to have the latest tech, but I would like to have one that doesn't go completely out of date the week after I put down $2-400 on it.

I would like to be able to tether it so I can use it as a mobile modem like I do my TP2. My wife likes to use her computer to do homework and such when we are on the road and uses my phone to link her laptop. I can do this with a simple program installed and not have to Root it, Toot it or Poot it to make it work.

I don't really care about 3D phones and such but if that's the best way to go, then I won't rule them out.

this will be my first Droid phone so I will basically be relearning everything I've been doing for the past 12 years with PDA's, and recently smart phones. As the OS's change I would have no problem updating them, but I don't want to have to do a lot of hacking and such in order to make my phone do things I could normally do with my TP2.

The reason I'm leaving the TP2 and going Droid is due to poor refurbs I have gotten to replace the new unit that stopped working. And, now with Windows 7 out, the support and software for WinMo6.5 and earlier has started to dry up. I guess, I'm making the "Apple Switch" now that Win7 has come out. If I have to change all my software over anyway, I may as well change to a newer OS also.

Thanks. As I think of other issues I'd like in the new phone, I'll add them.