[G2 and Desire Z General] mastergara:
First off, thank you for the replies. I will try to answer things coherently, as I am amazed I was as coherent as I was last night while composing the message :silly:

@lez42: Thank you for that link to the list of ROMs. If I missed it in the FAQ, I apologize, and site my continued over-searching leading me to the wrong spot. If at all possible, I would like to keep my setup (apps, contacts, logs, history, random notes in a notepad application that is not actually text editor, etc), as I will inevitably forget something from before, or some random customization that I do not even realize I have until something is amiss.

That, and I am not actually sure what the Sense UI actually is :)

@demkantor: I think I have a misunderstanding as to what the bootloader is. I was under the impression that CWM (ClockWorkMod) was the bootloader. If this is not the case, I would be interested to learn what it is, and what other bootloaders are available. Again, my understanding is that CWM replaced out the hboot on the G2 when I was working on the root process initially.

I have a Viewsonic GTab that I routinely change the ROM on (finally found a ICS ROM I like for it), but I am less concerned about the data on that device, as it is a "sometimes use", and my G2 is a "constant use" that I am fearful of nuking and starting from scratch.

Though, if there is a really compelling, stable, and feature-rich ROM that includes things like wifi calling, and no randomly lacking support for G2 hardware (experience from the GTab tells me camera and sound there is a bit of a PITA), I will suck it up, and nuke and pave. :cool:

@kbeezie: For the winders/osx/linux drivers, Linux has been the easiest for me, but they tend to not hide things. Not a whole heck of a lot of experience with MacOS, as my job has me interface more with Linux on the server side, and winders on the user side. My challenge there was using adb to access the phone (I used another laptop previously that I did not feel like digging out, as my wife is already more than patient with the various bits of computer hardware cluttering up shared space), as winders did not see the G2, and HTC did not just provide the inf/dll to use as a driver. But I digress...

Never used 4EXT Recovery, but am open to trying new tools, and see if they better suit the purpose. Could I be a further pest, and inquire as to where would could find information? A quick google search leads me to believe that this application in the market would well be worth the few bucks the developer is asking for (specially for all the features listed on their site). Though, if I am not properly understanding the bootloader/recovery aspect of things, I would like to be better educated. My understanding is that the bootloader is what comes up initially on the phone if you hit a combination of buttons, thereby giving you access to the recovery tool, like CWM. I was under the impression they were all part and parcel of the whole genie gig.

That said, is there a good ROM that is (mostly) production ready that would allow for the wifi-calling, and me only having to worry about this in another several years? I am somewhat interested in what all you have in your sig:

Device: TMobile G2 (122-1248MHz - My SetCPU Profiles - Undervolt Table)
ROM: EliteMod ICS 120624 - 2gb ext4 - 256MB sdswap - 96MB DataSwap (16GB Sandisk Ultra)
Kernel: EliteKernel 120625 Radio: 26.13.04.19
Recovery: 4EXT Recovery Touch 1.0.0.5 RC5
Battery: Generic 3500mAh "Fat Battery"
Extras:
T-Mobile Wifi Calling for CM9/Andromadus/AOKP ROMS
Headphone Volume Boost

Seems some of that is pretty experimental, but have you had good results using those items? And is it worth it to get a fat battery?