I currently run a fully modified phpBB forum and I like it. I do have lots of errors though and its starting to annoy me. Im thinking of switching to vBulletin but I need to know some stuff first. How easy to install is it? Is it as easy or easier than phpBB? Also if I switched, how difficult is it to install modifications. I have over 400 on my phpBB board so my members would be looking for them if I switched (at least the major ones like an arcade, etc.). Also do you have to pay for mods and skins? Sorry if I sound like a vBulletin noob but I really am. Also would I be able transfer all my posts from my phpbb board to the vbulletin via backup? If someone could help me I would appreciate it.

You could really do all of these, but you need time to do it. First do it on your local machine, after all customization is done with, import posts from phpBB2 and make it available to people. Many skins/mods of vBulletin are free but not all like phpBB2.

I started out with phpbb and after getting savagely hacked 2 or 3 times in a month i moved to vbulletin. I to had a ton of modifictions and updates. Vbulletin although not free it far superior and very easy to use especially if you know a thing or two under the hood with php. I strongly encourage going to it!

Switching a fully modded script to another can be indeed a pain. Try to figure out what are the features that are so important and try to have them installed on your new script. Then little by little go there. Anyway. It's hard and tedious, but it will be good in the end.

I would install VB on a folder in the site and then play with it "secretly". See the problems you'll encounter, try to search for the mods you think are important and so on .. afterwards move people and posts ...

Thing is you wouldnt even need 90 percent of the modifications you have to install in phpbb because vBulletin is feature rich, besides installing new modifications in vB 3.5.x is a piece of cake as you dont even need to edit the php files just simple hooks and plugins which can be attatched to your vBulletin.