I didn't do a factory reset like was recommended, far too lazy to start over completely heh, but these were the steps I took from the first page:
1. Did not sync apps (made sure none of my apps were set for automatic updates etc)
2. Wifi is disabled (for now, will likely turn it back on when I return home, currently out of state)
3. I don't use an automatic task killer, but I did see what was "Running" and stopped most of it.
4. Stopped using weather widget, not like I really use it anyways it was just pretty (and weather is still just an icon away).
5. Stopped using my live wallpaper.
6. Stopped my CNN news feed (not like it updates enough to matter anyways, and again, just an icon away)
7. Turned GPS off, use Google location services, so far good enough.
8. VZW location services turned off
9. Screen brightness to automatic (always was though)
10. Turned off Account Syncing
11. Turned off Voice Privacy
12. Turn off haptic feedback (was bugging me anyways)
13. Turned off Animations (not really sure what this did, seems quite 'animated' still)
14. Turned off several sounds that I didn't care for
15. Set screen timeout to 1min instead of 2mins
16. Changed browser homepage to a mobile news site instead of Google
I really dont feel like I changed much at all (despite the length of the list). I honestly have not noticed a sacrifice on any front regarding the performance of the phone, so I am completely convinced that I was draining my battery using things that I didn't even know I was using. Not only that, but because I disabled alot of the stuff I don't even care about, the phone actually feels much more responsive as well, it's almost a completely different experience!
Widgets were probably the biggest issue, I definitely went overboard with them and since changed most of them back to icons (which really doesnt affect my user experience at all lol).