Which $1k camera body to go with the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM?

I had a 70-300 IS USM which I used with a 400D/XTi and I was very happy with the lens.

I then got a 7D and was much less happy - the lens simply didn't seem as sharp particularly wide open or at 250mm+ which never seemed a problem with my 400D. I suspect that the pixel dense 18mp sensor revealed deficiencies in the lens which just weren't apparent with a less demanding 10mp sensor.

I sold the 70-300 IS and replaced it with the 70-300 L IS and all was well again - a stunning combination, lightning fast AF, great contrast and tack sharp at all apperture/FL combinations. Just Epic.

I respectfully suggest that your $1k might be best spend upgrading to one of the 70-x00Ls (they're all great) and then whichever 18mp Rebel body you can afford with the proceeds of selling your 350d and 70-300 IS, even if this means a 550/600d.

I like to be able to capture GPS location data in my images too, particularly now Flickr etc uses it to such good effect - but my experience with my GPS enabled S100 Compact has been a bit dissapointing, it takes a while to get a GPS fix particularly if it's in a new location of hasn't been used for a few days - and it doesn't use the last known location if you're inside and can't get a fix - so I end up with a lot of images with no location data which I find frustrating - I find that using a geo-logging app on my smartphone and merging the GPS data with my images subsequently a much more reliable. So personally I wouldn't make having a GPS receiver in the camera body a deciding criteria.