Were you using Nikon Capture for your RAW PP?
From what i've heard/tried even with D70 files I'm happier with Photoshop..... I use CS2 and ACR 3.1 for my RAW work now instead of anything by Nikon....Its pretty easy for me to work with, I converted over 250 shots from RAW to DNG, adjusting each for sharpness, WB, exposure and so on within the course of a very distracted day. I then did a DNG to JPEG conversion.
Of course with the D2X WB fiasco, it must be kinda rough on PP with 3rd party programs. I just wish everyone would work to a compromise! Adobe is a giant, Nikon is a much smaller giant. They should work together!
I still wonder one thing.....if you remember what it looked like in the first place, how hard is it to click the little box to the approximate lighting, then drag the slider a couple of times to see what's best.....I mean, it probably isn't much harder than adjusting it in the first place.
But then, it probably gets a bit tedious after a few hundred shots.
Nikon does know how to churn out quality JPEGS from their cameras though, especially the D2X.
And Photography....well, its all about having fun.