Please someone tell me there is A LOT of work being done to the backend design of DNN for the next major release? Or at least, does someone have a MUCH better backend skin I could use over the DNN default skin? DNN is ghastly when it comes to the backend design and usability is a nightmare. Thanks

There are tons of skins available. There are many good and free skins available. Take a look at the entries in the recent skinning contest on the DotNetNuke site. There is also a gallery of sites that use DotNetNuke. There are alternative menu systems. Some of these also are free.

Can you give a more specific idea as to what you need?