Yeah, running 12cell DTX3800s and Elite4500s. Real happy with both. I've only been running boats since last Sep and am waiting on going with lipos if I have to. Since your restarting the hobby, you might be in a better position to weigh if you want to dump the $$ into lipo or stay NiMh for a year or 2. If you plan on just sporting around, maybe go with NiMh. But for comp, many are jumping into the lipos for weight reasons. If you go NiMh, try at least 3600mAh or higher to give decent run times.
Try a charger that can charge lipo and NimH and highly recommend getting a charger that can charge 2 packs at a time (Duratrax Dual or SuperBrain 977). One that can use a DC input and AC is also better if you plan on charging at the "track".