Welcome from western MA. I spent a year in O'fallon back in the 80's. I also am swinging a V3i, going into my 3rd year. It's a great machine and I am still learning it but I will say that the my finds have increased each year. Right now I am basically running in the HighPro program, its great. Looking forward to your future posts.
P.S. Keep reading about the V3i, I always am getting new information.