I haven't really been paying much attention to this thread, but i will say this: If my phone is USB connect to my XP machine at work it will always charge the phone. If I connect it to my Vista Machine, maybe it will charge the phone and (more often then not) it will Discharge the phone.

I also have a Car Charge (VZW one) it charges without a problem.
I'm running ADRrynalane 6.5 v3.8.1 i think, plus cooking my own occaisonally.