ChoperMike, you are correct, there is a lot of misinformation on batteries in these forums. Here is a list of very good info, especially the second and last items, giving you the straight skinny on batteries.

http://www.camlight.com/techinfo/techtips.html
http://www.whenshtf.com/showthread.php?t=2153
http://www.srbatteries.com/nimh.htm
http://dansdata.com/gz011.htm
http://users.frii.com/dlc/battery.htm
http://www.hangtimes.com/redsbatteryclinic.html