Sounds like you are on the right track. Just need to know if golf galaxy fitted you for x-stiff flex in both the shafts. I would also like to know what the ust feels like when you get it.

One of the reasons the D2 misses are better than your previous driver is because of the higher backspin, more backspin means less effect of sidespin, thus straighter ball flight on miss hits.

I think for the higher launch of the 9.5 D3 than 8.5 D2 is not the actual launch angle but total height of the shot. These are not the same. The launch angle is probably about the same, the spin for the 9.5 is higher, creating more lift. Just guessing, I'd say the 9.5 spin is probably around 3600, which will cause the ball to rise more than the 8.5 D2 at 3200. As the ball rises it also changes the direction of its velocity to a more upward direction. If the spin rate is too high you will definitely lose distance.

The shaft, mainly getting the flex and tip right, all the other stuff is about fine tuning and feel(the tip is about feel also but too soft can be bad). Don't get me wrong, feel is very important, if the shaft doesn't feel right most likely you won't swing it right.

Changing the amount of spin of a particular club, changing how you swing is the most effective way to increase or decrease spin. Basically the more your hands lead the clubhead at impact the more spin is created, or the closer the clubhead is to even with your hands at impact the less spin is created.

My guess is you have a powerful iron swing and the ball at least stops when it hits the green, you don't want to lead the driver that much. But changing your driver swing will change the feel of your swing which will in turn change your iron swing.

On the good side, what you have is not 1 driver head, you have many driver heads, you can decrease the loft which will decrease the spin, and will change the actual launch angle very little.

John,  you are right in that I hit my irons extremely well and with a high ball flight with plenty of spin.  Via video I do lead with my hands through impact which is fine with me.  I start losing a little gap with my longer irons (4 iron and 3 iron) which is why I have put a 24* hybrid adjusted to 23.25* as well as a 19* hybrid in the bag which has helped my gaps from the 5 iron to the 19* hybrid.  

Does anyone have both a D2 and D3?  I hit both well and I have been thinking on windy days I could play the 8.5* D3 which spins less and lowers my flight and on normal days or wet days play the 8.5* D2.  Any thoughts?

Does anyone think the New Pro V1x will be a less spinny (sp) ball than last years version.  What can I expect spin wise?

I started of with the D2 with Project X 6.0 flex 9.5 set at A1. this was the best shaft for me. I hit the ball a long way and very high. my ss is 105 to 107 and spin was around 3500. I then changed to the D3 and the Project X 6.5 flex, I wanted more control and lower flight. I also like the smaller head as with the D2 I was fighting the left side. the spin came down to 3200 to 2900, I am happy with the distance and controll, lost some distance but as I am a good iron player I dont mind hitting 1/2 club longer. I play off as 3 hdcap is 50 yrs old. having played golf for 35 years I have learned 1 thing,  controll first, if you dont build this into your driver, the rest of your game struggles.

I'm starting to really realize that control is more important to me as well.  I play off scratch and when I drive the ball well I usually shoot around or slightly under par but when I struggle it leads to struggles with other parts of my game.  My strongest part of my game is by far my iron play and it is easier to hit 5 iron out of the fairway then 6 or 7 iron out of the deep stuff or trees.  My swing speed is around 105 and my carry distance is around 255-260 but when I catch one I can get it out there pretty good.  I'm not a long hitter but would like to get my spin down below 3000 which I believe will add yards as well.  

On another note I started a TPI workout with a certified instructor recently and I am getting a lot more flexible which I fill will help as well.  I am 46 and not getting more flexible so all the little things I can do will help I hope.

I bought a new 8.5* D2 this winter based on a launch moniter fitting.  My swing speed with was about 108, spin in the 2,800 - 3,000 range with carry similar to yours.  They fit me into the D2 with the UST V2 76 gram shaft, which brought my swing speed down to about 103 but reduced spin to 2,300 - 2,400 and my smash factor went up with the low torque UST shaft.  I've played it all summer and I found it to be a very straight club...it's a very stable shaft.  The problem was that I lost at least 20 yards of distance, which is a lot.  The ball seemed to spin more than the launch moniter indicated and, while my trajectory was good, the ball just didn't seem to carry the way I expected.  I finally gave up on it recently and started trying different shafts as well as the D3 head (I like the look of the compact head).  After trying 5 or 6 different shafts in both club heads on a golf course that I know well, I went with the 8.5* D3 head and the Project X 6.0 shaft.  I seemed to have gotten my distance back, the ball seems to spin less (I play the Pro V1x), and overall I just I like the feel and launch of that combination and don't find that I am sacrificing control or accuracy.  I hope my experience is helpful since it seems like we have similar swing characteristics.  Good luck.