Well, the backup you make in recovery, is called the nandroid backup. That is like a snapshot of your phone's current state....kinda like a restore point in a computer.
Now, I believe, without searching for it, the backup tool that zoandroid suggested was probably Titanium backup. That is a little different. It will backup your apps and data.
The free version will do that. It will also backup sms/mms/wifi passwords/etc but that is with the paid version. The paid version will also allow you to batch restore your apps. The free version does not--you have to restore them one by one. Just time consuming is all.
The theme I use is the DarkHorse theme. Not all themes are universal. In other words, this DarkHorse theme I run is made for CleanRom. So, just make sure that the theme you like is made for not only your device, but for the rom you are running.
There is a link for it in my signature. My signature will appear in my first post on this page.
As far as settings....like what settings? Kernel settings? Screen settings? Sync settings? All devices, even though they are the same make/model, will sometimes react differently even though all settings are the same..follow?
Glad you got your sd card going :thumbup: