Oh wow, lots of replies since I read here.

I need to work my way through them and give this some more thought.

But yes, I have gear grips or whatever they are called, and the bar ends do work with them, because I had the LBS add them when I had my new armadillo nimbus tires put on -- which I LOVE LOVE LOVE.

The bar ends, not so sure about. Maybe because my bar is so wide that they just put my hands out wider but that doesn't help me a lot. The guy cocked them forward at the same angle my stem is angled forward, but said they could be twisted back toward me if that would help, and we could also work on the angle of the stem.

I've come to the conclusion that I can only ride and ride and ride until I learn more about my body and my bike, because people at bike stores always speak with such authority when they look at me and say, "Oh, this is what's wrong, let me adjust this," and I ride and it feels different but who knows if it's really better?

So the guy says we can change those angles and I think I should, but I'm not sure HOW yet. I'm going to read more, ride more, etc.

And drops -- are those the bars I associate with road bikes, curved under? I don't think I'd be able to use them with these gear grips... But I've been thinking I'd love to have them. I've been thinking I need a road bike eventually, though, so that's no surprise. Do people use drops with hybrids, ever?