The reason why people are going towards AM2+ is that some of the AM2+ boards can support the new Phenom II processors. And the Phenom II's overall performance is such that it can now compete with (though it can't defeat) the Core 2 series -- for a fraction of the price.
The Socket T (or LGA775), as good as it still is, is essentially a dead-end platform. The new Q8-series quad-cores are among the last that Intel will produce for that socket.
I have to agree with Tiraides... Right now the best bang for the buck is AMD (and has been for some time). With the cross compatibility of some of the AM3 processors with AM2+ boards you give yourself more options. I am in the same boat as I am trying to update my aging s939 system with something that will provide better performance for my photo editing now that I have really no longer play games on the comp. C2D seems great but still runs anywhere from $50 - $100 more expensive for the same gear.
You said mostly purchased from the FS/T forum... there's a ton of cheap ass LGA775 gear that I'd pickup and OC to hell. If you were buying new, I'd go with AM2+.