Hi there Jowel,
Yes the world of telescopes can be a bit of a headache at times, however I'll see if I can help at all. As you can see in my signature I use exactly the setup you are seeking infomation about. So here goes:
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I read somewhere that newtonians on equatorial mounts are a joke? Apparantly they're difficult because the eyepiece can point in weird directions?
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Ok, yes they are fiddly and you are continually screwing/unscrewing the tube rings and spinning the tube within so the eypiece is located more user friendly. You do get used to this.
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what's the difference between an EQ5 mount and a much more expensive HEQ5 mount
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The EQ5 is fully manual which is not so bad once you have a good set of charts and is great for expanding your knowedge of the sky. Once you align the mount, which is very simple when only doing visual observing, tracking is quite simple.
I find that my scope is amazing and I am still surprised at how much I can see through it. Part of the trick is not to expect to see coffee table book quality views. e.g. you are doing well to see faint mag. 10 galaxies as smugdes. They are not called faint fuzzies for nothing!!
It is also worthwhile investing in a set of good quality eyepieces. I do most of my viewing with a 21mm (47X), a 13mm (76X) and a 2.5X powermate. Great! To give a little idea of its capabilities I have seen Pluto through it on an exceptional night.
Also no problems with transporting as we have a 4X4 and station wagon but I do think a smaller vehicle should be not great drama.