I wasn't just counting posts here, I've been reading many forums about these problems. Whole websites created to upload focussing cards and guides, tips on how to avoid oil spots or remove them, etc.
Like you, I've also not limited my search to Dpreview. Here are some comments from a poster on another forum called Alton Andrew...it was in response to a review putting the D7000 at twice as good as the D300...
Quote....
BS voting in favor of the d7000. Still image focusing is MUCH better on the d300s, especially in low light - my d7000 jumps around like a lost puppy, but the d300s just nails it. The color accuracy is much more realistic on the d300s, very similar to what my eye sees. My d7000 looks like "vivid" on steroids, almost cartoon-like colors!! Buffer on the d7000 is laughable. If you shoot fast moving aircraft, you'll have less than 2 seconds worth of burst exposures (10 @ 6FPS) in RAW before you hit the buffer, then take a nap while it sloooowly recycles zzzzzzzz, oh sorry I nodded off. So for sports or fast moving action, seriously, get another camera. The image quality is better on the d7000, but not greatly. ISO is better on the d7000, but that advantage would be negated with good fast glass, and they ALL suffer at ISO 1600 and above. Go full Frame FX if you want superb IQ/ISO. You would have to blow images up to 2x3ft to see the difference. D300s body is a tank. The most important part of the d7000 body (where the lens attaches) is plastic, with the metal mount screwed into it, p.l.a.s.t.i.c. - very similar to the stuff American news readers are made of. Bracketing is much better on the d300s, and the d300s uses 16bit conversion (as per nikon website). Another d7000 annoyance - no EV metering inside the view finder in any mode except manual, so you don't know how the camera is adjusting exposure!! (FYI my old canon 40d blows both of them out of the water for buffer/ focusing speed/ev)
Ergonomics of the d300s are much much better, unless you have the feminine hands of a girlyman, you may find the d7000 more comfortable (but the rubber has less stippling and is of thinner and cheaper quality. The top LCD screen on the d7000 is small and crappy, and filled with unimportant garbage, that is of no use unless you can access the setting while keeping your eye in the viewfinder. Movie Mode is pretty good, and much better than the d300s, but positively rubbish compared to a camcorder. Traveling with either cameras and lenses will be a pain in the bum. Its lenses and balance, not the weight of camera bodies that makes them tiresome (glass is heavy) SD cards fail all the time CF do not, and SD's are much easier to lose. All the "customizability" of the d7000 are gimmicks designed to sell the brand. The d300s does everything extremely well, and doesn't need the gimmicks the newbies will use. They do nothing to help you become a better photog, so you'd be better off spending money on some good workshops with a pro. Ansell Adams said the most important part of the camera is the 12 inches behind the viewfinder.