I started out in helis as well, and no longer have one. They are great, but if you want lots of airtime, multis are the way to go.
You can take a look at my autopilot project at:
http://www.skywardrc.com/arducopter-uav-project.html
There are several really nice autopilots on the market. Most are pretty expensive. I wanted full programmable autopilot with a laptop based Mission Planner, so I went with the APM2 from DIY Drones. There is a definate learning curve, it is very complex. I have found that it is worth the effort though and there are a lot of great resources since the technology is all Open Source. I have my FPV quad set up so that it will fly itself if I want it to, very impressive. I have a feeling I will like the tricopter even better.