In my opinion, I jumped to all grain too soon. Meaning I still had some work to do in the fermentation and understanding my water. But AG is more fun, I think. I haven't brewed with LME/DME since, but I don't have a problem with it.
Looking back, I should have tooled up and learned yeast handling, full boils, hop additions,rapid chilling, fermentor temp control, and water before going to AG. Dialing in mash temps doesn't make up for being sloppy at the rest of it.