We are *this* close to writing the new script and I can't wait!

We've been taking a different approach these last couple of months, working out a very, very thorough outline. So instead of spending oodles of time writing draft upon draft, we've just been writing outline upon outline (which, let me tell ya, is a heck of a lot faster, and makes tons more sense!)
We have a spreadsheet that breaks our screenplay down into the first, second, and third act, and then deconstructs it even further scene by scene. For each scene, we've listed how many pages (pages = minutes) we've allocated for it, and what page number it lands on, as we're aiming for a 105 page script.
We've always had this script outline, but we never really took advantage of it and worked with it to the extent that we should have last time.
Now, with the invaluable coverage (script notes) we've received from some industry pros, I think our new process could best be described as a funnel...
We started with the big problems. This involved a LOT of heavy brainstorming. (Or "thought-showering", for any P.C. folk out there.) How should each act end?  Is this subplot or character pushing the story forward, or is it simply a distraction?
This process took a couple weeks.... heck, it actually took more like a month or so, as we completely overhauled our story. We brought some elements way up, and toned others way down. We introduced new characters, while eliminating others. We enhanced our protagonist's arc, and made his personal drama tie better into the supernatural drama that's taking place behind the scenes. This way our new story does not rely on the mystery alone, but it focuses on a more tangible theme... one of regret and second chances. The mystery comes secondary. (As advised by the notes we received.)
Once we had the bulk of the outline done, we started examining each and every scene. Does it make sense to include this scene anymore? Is it helpful if we change the setting, and if so, where should this scene take place? What's the back-story to all the characters involved, and are we being true to them? Would they really react the way we've described? Will any part of our screenplay still be compared to 'Knowing'? (That friggin' Nick Cage movie that's coming out next year and has a bunch of common elements to our script. I don't know if I told you all or not, but a producer we know got a hold of the script for us so we would not be on pins n' needles until next March.... and much to our relief, the ending and underlining mystery is way different. Thank gawd!)
Because the notes we had received mentioned a few times that the readers enjoyed
our moody M. Night Shayamalan feel, we felt it would be helpful to compare our outline to one of his. So we made a very detailed scene by scene outline of the 6th Sense in order to study the beats, and see if our new draft is keeping a good pace.  Earlier we had also made six less detailed drafts of other films including Hearts in Atlantis and Field of Dreams, where we outlined their main plot points and what pages they fell on. Films often follow a similar pacing, and so we wanted to ensure that our beats were strong enough in those areas, or else we'd have to rejig a few things or create new dramatic moments.
So, that being said, we then went over the outline again and asked questions like, how is the pacing in comparison to these other scripts? Are we hitting the right beats? Should we rearrange the order of these scenes, or create new ones?
And now, FINALLY, we are going through with a fine tooth comb to ensure that we are 100% satisfied. We've started adding bits of dialog that we want to include, and are creating such a detailed paint-by-numbers skeleton of every scene, that all that's left to do is flesh it out.
We're both pretty confident that once we finally get through this last nit-picky phase, we'll be able to actually write -- something we've been saying for the last month, "Maybe we can start writing next week."
Excluding the fact that September was a total write-off with our weddingmoon, it feels like we've been focusing on our new outline forever... but I really don't mind at all, because it has been well worth it... and it was still much faster than writing draft upon draft. The dialog will always flow later on, it's the structure that really needed the work right now.
Man, I have to say that when I look at the piece o' shit script we had before this process, I'm honestly astonished that we got as far as we did. There is no way in hell we deserved to win third place out of thousands. I feel like some more deserving scripts were probably ripped off, because as far as I'm concerned, our last script was total funking crap. We rushed it to meet the competition deadline, and it totally shows. I'm thoroughly embarrassed and will probably never read our old "winning" draft again. Damn, I can't believe we actually sent that thing to so many producers too. Ugh!
Believe me when I say, our new draft is going to be SOOO much better. In fact, I'm really excited about it... and in all honesty, I can't say that I was ever excited about our earlier version. Actually, the only thing that excited me before was the concept. And yet, we didn't make that concept clear enough, we didn't make our protagonist's mission strong enough, and there were a zillion other problems on top of that. But now... now, I'm excited.
I have no choice but to believe that the reason our crappy draft won last September was to allow more doors to be opened -- and SO many have, for which I'm eternally grateful. It's really nothing short of a miracle when you consider the speed that everything is falling into place for us. We've been given such an amazing opportunity to really focus all our energy on this project and make it the best it can be. I really do believe that when you're doing something you love, and are willing to invest the time and energy, the Universe will always provide. We sacrificed our social lives for over a year, writing almost every day and working late into the night... and now only a year after our contest win, we've been provided with the unimaginable -- funding that allows us to make our sucky script into the story that it has the potential to be.
We have known a couple people who have had a year (or two) off work, and spent it sleeping in until the afternoon and watching re-runs until 2 am. When their time off work was up, they complained to us about how unhappy they were that they had to return to the same crappy ol' job, or that they didn't get any projects done (or even started) like they thought they would. And yet, we quietly stood by and watched them as they did NOTHING proactive that whole friggin' time. 
J n' I had always envied the time they had, but were also totally irritated. We told ourselves, if we ever had that kind of opportunity, we'd make the most of it. Now, we finally have that opportunity, and we cannot afford to waste a second of it.  The only issue is that J gets really anxious if we hit a wall brainstorming and decide to call it a day after only a couple hours. He *really* doesn't want to waste any of this time... but I do think there needs to be a balance. If the solutions aren't coming, then step away for a while. There's nothing to feel guilty about if you tried and the ideas just aren't flowing.
But now the mountain of brainstorming is done... we just have to comb through the finer details of the second half of the script, which we'll probably do tonight when J is off work. AND THEN,  I think we should be good to go, f'real.
We are *this* close to writing, and I really, really, really can't wait!