Well boys, I did it. I got the D7000! Got to play around with it a lot today, but I still have much to learn...
I love mine. here are some tips. learn how to shoot in manual. NEVER shoot in auto. the reason isn't to be an elitist meanie. you should never let your camera make any decisions for you. you should be the one telling the camera what to do. and knowing your camera and how it operates results in better pictures. auto focus is fine if you are the one telling it where to focus (thats what the 39 AF points are for!). it can be more precise than your eye in most cases. shoot in RAW always. no exceptions. shooting in jpeg is like throwing away your negative after you get your pictures developed. and hard drives are cheaper than developing negative so dont complain about lack of space on your hard drive. BACKUP!
also
http://froknowsphoto.com/ can teach you a lot.
also ONLY buy pro/high speed SD cards. (stick to known brands as well.) the SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC cards are a perfect fit for this camera.
also stick to nikon glass. buying 3rd party/generic lenses can screw you over when you upgrade your camera. (unless you are buying zeiss glass)
on that note dont buy 3rd party batteries either. and buy a spare.
also the best accessories you can get will be:
the 35mm f/1.8 dx Nikon lens
(after that if you plan on upgrading to a fx sensor the cheaper 50mm f/1.8 is a good one to get in addition)
if you like to shoot in portrait and would like a heftier more substantial feeling. get the battery grip i love mine. its also good on trips to the park. you can keep two batteries in your camera and not carry a spare in your pocket. (also two SD cards will fit in the camera too.)
if you find yourself needing flash the SB 700 is great. don't use the on board flash. seriously.
feel free to ask me anything if you want too.