Once you get used to it, you will never want to go back to any other kind of trackpad. I think it's one of the best parts of the MBP's!
It's an adjustment for sure, only because my last MBP was the oddball model that had the full-featured 4 contact point trackpad (much like the newer models), but still retained the button. So, I trained myself to use the button sometimes (like when dragging), but did tapping for nearly everything else.
So, each time I go to drag, my thumb gravitates toward the bottom of the trackpad and pushes as if the button is still there.
To make matters worse, I apparently enabled drag-lock at some point, which is really infuriating as it doesn't release until you do a subsequent tap. Took me awhile to figure this out, but now that I've got it turned off and yet still have dragging enabled, it works as I'd expect it. Now I'm starting to like it, but old habits do indeed die hard.
Battery life is pretty darned solid. I don't think I'd ever get the 7 hours of life that Apple claims, but I ran it hard last night and got a solid 5 hours even with a little bit of gaming (I was playing Portal via Steam).