MrCoolxx,
I demoed both of those Samsung tvs before i bought my GT30 and i simply wouldn't buy either of them, both the 7000 and 8000 suffered from horrendous backlight issues! They were so bad i asked the retailer if the sets were faulty to which he replied, and i quote "they are both within spec" which immediately put me off as anyone could see these tvs had a real issue. 3 of the four corners were absolutlely terrible with strong white clouds visible no matter what was on screen and when the picture went dark the effect got even worse with the other corner of the screen showing the issue (although not as bad) and the effect intruding even further into the screen.
I even took the time out to visit a second retailer just to make sure that the first store didn't just have a bad batch but alas at the second retailer the plot thickened...this time the 7000 showed exactly the same issue but the 8000 had the issue around the entire screen! Backlighting like that was more than enough to stop me from buying either tv and just goes to show that you should try before you buy, i have since read many angry forums reporting the issue much like you did with your Panasonic G20 and i wouldn't buy one over a GT30 or VT30 if you paid me.
Plasma is an older tech then lcd/led that's true but it's days are far from numbered with most home cinema enthusiasts much preferring the more natural picture they produce. The 2011 Panasonic plasma tvs were highly recommended on these forums because of their performance and indeed a quick glance at the 2011 WHF awards issue would tell you why, no other tv got even close to the performance offered by these tvs thats why they are so highly recommended and not because everyone here is a fanboy of Panasonic...i think i can speak for most of the members here by saying we are fans of performance regardless of manufacturer which is why the Pioneer Kuro tvs are still held in such high regard on here.