Nikon: d40x, or d80? And which lens?

I shoot Nikon when I take pictures. My progression through the various cameras and so forth basically went like this:

1) point and shoot, 2 mpix. This was the Canon sd100 (or something like that), a little guy the size of a deck of cards. Nice camera, not particularly cheap but cheap for the time, but slow as a dog. I could not take a picture within a few seconds, and when I did, the exposure time had to be very long to capture what I thought was a shot in decent light.
2) Canon S1 IS. I liked this camera, it had all kinds of bells and whistles, and with a macro lens attached, could let me take shots like:

Very cool, and very close in, since that little guy could not have been more than a centimeter high.

Problem was, the S1 IS (and presumably it's more recent cousin, the Canon S5 IS) suffered from the same shutter lag problem, as well as requiring a tripod for shots made in all but bright sunlight. The noise was bad enough that I couldn't go past ISO 100, and so the exposure times would just be too high to be fixed by the image stablization.

So I then decided to buy an SLR. It came down to the Canon Rebel (first generation), or the Nikon D70. Based on specs and noise profiles from dpreview.com, as well as the couple hundred dollar difference in price, it was pretty clear to me that the Canon was the way to go. I went to my local Ritz (Wolf?) Camera, just to try them out, and the Nikon was clearly the better way to go. It felt like an actual tool, a black and meaningful piece of equipment used to do serious things. The Canon felt cheap and chintzy, and was too small for my gargantuan paws. So, to the Nikon!

I've since moved on to a D200, with a variety of prime and zoom lenses, and really couldn't be happier. I have realized that I needed to change equipment as the needs I had weren't being met by my previous equipment; but, since changing to an SLR, I now have equipment that meets or exceeds my needs, so I have more to learn. Which is good, because it keeps me interested in the hobby.

Recently, a friend of mine asked me for links about the D40x, and this is what I told her. I replicate it because I actually get asked this question quite a bit:

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Here's the d40x:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/494398-REG/Nikon__D40x_Digital_Camera_with.html
(that's with a 2gb card)

And the lens I recommend:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/324190-USA/Nikon_2149_18_70mm_f_3_5_4_5_G_AFS_ED_IF.html

If you're thinking of getting some of the older lenses, or the prime lenses, this might not be the right camera.

Almost all of the pictures I take that make people drool, like this one:
http://www.markmroden.com/gallery/3165979#174004648
are done with a prime lens.

Why is that image worth noting? From a technical perspective (whether or not you think the subject matter is emotionally grabbing or not, just the technical), note a few things:
1) action is frozen
2) he is in sharp focus, the grass behind him is blurred nicely, and blurs more the further things are to the lens

Both of those feats are accomplished by what's known as a large aperture. In this case, the lens was an 85mm 1.8 lens, which can be had for ~$350 or so, and was set to f/2.0. By comparison, most non-professional zooms are between 3.5 and 5.6 (the one I've recommended is 3.5-4.5), which means that there is much less subject isolation from background (ie, more stuff is in focus), and the camera needs more time to gather light for a decent exposure, so you may not be able to freeze action as well.

If you think that you may want to explore this direction, not just with zooms, but also primes, then you may want to consider a d80. It costs more:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/449061-REG/Nikon_25412_D80_SLR_Digital_Camera.html
but you can pair it with this lens:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/247091-USA/Nikon_2137_Normal_AF_Nikkor_50mm.html
which is perhaps the best lens in the nikon lineup, for the price.

If you can stretch it, I really recommend the d80 over the d40, if only because you can then expand into lenses made before the last 7 years. If you really see yourself needing a zoom and not too concerned with subject isolation, then the d40 is probably fine, but as of this moment, lacks much in the way of expansion to those older lenses.

Having said all of that, though, here's some reviews.
http://www.bythom.com/d40review.htm
http://www.bythom.com/1870lens.htm
http://www.bythom.com/d80review.htm
http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_norm.html (and look for the 50mm 1.8 review)
http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_zoom_01.html#AFS18-70G

I hope that helps.

Here's some museum shots that were also taken with the 85 mm:
http://www.markmroden.com/gallery/3166046

Note that, by the second reviewer's scale, the 85mm 1.8 that I use is a 4, same score as the 18-70.