Do to the efforts of one of the chef's at XDA, a new proceedure now has the posibility of alleviating some of the most annoying features in doing hard resets.
[NEW] K's Flexi Rom [AutoCab Installation-Uninstallable Apps-BigSto-Black-WWE-Touch] - xda-developers
Specifically it is the AutoCab Install routine which should allow MANY (but not all) apps to automatically install from cab files on SD card after the customization phase of reset.
There is a thread currently tracking the apps that can successfully install in this method at:
K's Flexi ROM AutoCAB installation cab list - xda-developers.
Once there is a better DB of apps and a bit of refinement in the process, this may well become the latest and greatest in ROM customizing for the layman.