Pardon Me While I Choke Down This GU and Gloat

I will not gloat, I will not gloat...okay maybe just a little. I LOVE Houston WEATHER. On Saturday I ran at Terry Hershey Park (aka) Terri's Chocolate Park=) in shorts and t-shirt. I am not missing the weather in Tulsa which is currently in the teens at all! Oh I know I will pay for all this gloating this Summer when I experience the heat and humidity I hear can get really tough. But for now the temperatures are a huge blessing. Speaking of blessing I ran 9 miles on Saturday! I have not been able to do this kind of distance since my father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer last year. As you know our family had a very difficult year with his illness and death. So getting back to consistent running and some real mileage was a major blessing to me. I know it sounds silly but I was a bit emotional after I got home and talked to my husband about how good it felt to be out running again and for it to not be a run weigh down with so many heart-heavy miles. We miss him terribly but I am thankful that are moving forward and running is once again becoming a true joy in my life. On a side note I am noticing that with this great weather my hydration needs to be increased. I have always used GU because I got freebies of them in the racing bags=) So I just stuck with the GU brand. But I can only handle a couple of the flavors, the rest just have a chemical taste to me. Okay so trying to expand my horizon I decided to try a different brand and bought Accel Gel. The consistency is MUCH thinner but it doesn't seem to have as much gel stuff in the little packet as the GU. I have never felt a burst of energy after taking any gel, nor am I sure I'm suppose too...but I know for sure I am feeling like I need more fluids during my runs. I just bought myself a little 8oz fluid bottle that slips onto my SPIbelt. I put G3 in that, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't be drinking the full strength Gatorade and taking in more GU's (I've been taking one every 4miles). So I'd like to know what Gels and drinks do you use? And do you feel like it makes a difference?