Gosh Doug, no sustain from your poor Hill, no wonder you don't dig the sound.I'm certainly just more tuned into the sound of steel, I like sustain, which is the part that always bothers me with most nylons. But it's all about your desired sound, and some things sound best on nylon. And some of the higher end classical guitars sustain nearly as much as a steel string, and are louder. I do like the rounder tone. The nice thing about a crossover/hybrid is that there's less adjustment if you're used to a steel string. As far as tunings, I've even tried nylon in DADGAD! These days, classical players are pretty experimental, and many of them use alternate tunings. It's a little harder to quickly change between tunings, but otherwise it can work fine.
I had one of those multiac's for a while, too. I got it mostly for the synth access, which is a whole other challenge! Another whole area I just never had time to fully explore, so I gave up.
I suspect you and Vanessa would get on like a house on fire. Her mantra is "sustain, sustain, sustain". She polices it around here. and we love her for it, for making us better guitar players.
I find it rather curious that you don't associate sustain with classical guitars. Mine has it in spades, at least as much if not more I suspect that my Larrivee steel string. I have tried some nylons that weren't up to scratch, but sustain is so important that I suspect many classical guitar fans would be cringing at the thought that classical guitars don't have the goods in that regard.
Have you tried hard tension nylons? I use them on my classical. I'm not sure how they affect sustain, but they do increase the volume and give a brighter sound. They feel closer to steel strings to play too. It might be worth a try.
In the end it's all a matter of taste really. I swing both ways, steel or nylon.
Shel