DD-WRT is, by far, my favorite third-party firmware for the Linksys WRT54G wireless router. I, personally, have three of these on my network — one as the primary access point and router and two as bridged repeaters — on which I have used several versions of dd-wrt. (I’ve also used Sveasoft and Hyper-WRT on these devices.)
Previously, I have endured spectacular failure when trying to flash version 8 devices. <The sound of bricks dropping rings out in the distance.> (My devices are all version 2. The Wikipedia article I linked to above explains the differences in the hardware versions.) It turns out, the critical misunderstanding I had related to flashing the stock firmware with vxWorksKiller (prior to transferring the DD-WRT image to the router via TFTP). I did not realize that the upload of vxWorksKiller needed to be done from a special management screen that is only accessible after unplugging the router, holding down the reset button while plugging the router back in, and continuing to hold the reset button for 20 seconds. This implies that the upload should not be done from the default firmware’s upgrade page. This understanding was gained this week when building a PC, and flashing two routers, for a friend of mine.
Given that the preponderance of WRT54Gs on shelves now are version 8.x, this realization bodes well for me in future purchases.