I have one of those indestructible Fortrex's myself, almost 9 years old and still kicking. If it ever dies I will definitely be looking at a spot lock TM and would also like to get brushless.
Livescope will probably happen someday too for me, but not right away. Once fish get out more than about 30 feet deep, I lose interest in them unless they are on top, and I have fun fishing with what I have anyway. However I can see that if a guy is a serious tourney fisherman that you're going to be at a disadvantage without look ahead type sonar., especially in pre-tourney scouting.