I have learned to mistrust the ham manufacturer's battery packs over the years. They just don't use very good quality cells inside, whatever the technology. And they charge an awful lot to buy their custom-fitting short-lived packs. So I would say, if you can, try to get a radio that has an accessory form-fitting pack that can take AAs, for use as a backup (or even regularly, but with less power output).

I take the dead packs apart very carefully and rebuild with my own choice of cells after they die. Way cheaper, and not one I have rebuilt with quality cells has ever died. But then, if you're a ham, doing thngs like this is what it's (meant to be) all about...

You sure are right about the programming of these radios. I would never say I have the best memory, but these things have so many functions and the programming of some of the important functions is really obscure. I wish they put their user manuals in Word or pdf etc. format. Maybe some do? I actually typed the manual for mine into Word, shrunk it down a lot so it all fit on one page both sides...I use it all the time. Must be getting old...