Drop juice defender like a bad habit,asap!
Not only Juice Defender (Bravo on dropping that KOLIO). I would also drop Apps2SD and just get SD Increase. Unless you are using WIFI you can also drop Masqued Crusader, as Metro has no 3G network..Its either 1x or 4g..and the Ascend is not 4g capable. Not really sure why you have CacheCleaner and CacheMate...They both basically do the same job.
Your phone performance increases basically come from limiting the services and programs running on your phone, and Android Assistant is very good for this. Also invest in Titanium Backup Pro. It will allow you to freeze a lot of useless apps that you really don't want to delete off the phone.
Other than that. There is not really much else you can do. The Ascend is very limited. If you want a speed demon of a phone, i recommend you upgrade to the Galaxy device offered by Metro.