I agree pretty much with cpill on priorities. My order is a little different:

1) CVS import with support / examples for product classes and product images.

i might be able to contribute here very soon or at least put up a strawman for feedback / improvements. at least on the product class / noderef stuff.

i'm still trying to figure out the most efficient (least amount of hand wrangling) way to organize the image files, their naming conventions, tying them to the record lines for given products along with img cache presets in the csv import file and then actually importing them. actually i'm not even at the most efficient way since i don't know wtf i need to do for this part period . i'm thinking out loud now.. if this is a simple cck img field (and i think it is) my life just got significantly easier

2) I'm seeing a lot of forum churn regarding shipping, primarily USPS.

That probably needs some lovin' as it's going to be used by lots of folks (without shipping - no cart - so stores arent' up and running). Overclocked has a tables based zone method / module that i haven't tried but looks pretty good and seems to avoid all of the snafus of the REAL TIME usps shipping quotes. PLUS it does NOT require SSL which is another road block for many store owners (or at least more hastle than it's worth i would think for something that seems like non private info to me - shipping rates).

i'm not sure "how" the uc team prioritizes.

My current to do list is huge to the point where it's overwhelming.

So sometimes i find that i gravitate towards what is either fun, what i WANT to do or simply what i wake up and start working on first versus actually following what NEEDS to be done. I have to force myself (e.g. prioritize ) to do what needs to be done so i can reach my ultimate goal faster.

The uc team has a lot on their plate. And folks out here using uc each have our own little quirks and wishlists. That makes it hard to please everyone.

I'm not sure if the numbered ordering on your current uc8 checklist (which is pretty large already) is by priority. But if you look at that list, some of those things are definitely needed (not just wanted) to get basic store functionality up and running. Like product imports and solid shipping. I'd love to see those get moved to the top of the list. Get the macro critical mass working then finesse the micro details afterwords.

I know that's easier said than done as new issues pop up every day which shift focus and context and each change offers its own regression challenges.

Prioritizing them by number order versus generic list might help the critical mass stuff get done quicker. At least that method works for me.

I'm happy with what you do either way