Hi Brian-
Awesome that you're getting back into it. I was flying a fixed pitched Blade Cx2 all summer just to get used to heli flight. I went the electric route. I became an expert at that and pushed it beyond its capabilities for the most part since its a coaxial heli. I just ordered a Esky Belt CP last week. It's basically the same size as a t-rex 450 SE. It fully extreme 3D capable. Comes standard with a 3900Kv brushless motor. The only upgrade really need is to replace the stock gyro with a Heading hold one.
You can get all the fancy carbon fiber upgrades, CNC aluminum head & tail upgrades, etc.. for this also. I wanted to upgrade to a 3D heli that was on the cheaper side. I knew if I spend big buck$ on a t-trex 450 or 600 that it would be just a hovercraft for me since it's so expensive to replace parts.
Do you know of a good flight simulator that can be used to learn all the inverted stuff, loops, rolls, etc..??
Link to my new toy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItP1wblgM24