Well, I did some experimenting. I renamed a .jpeg with an extra period and it DID open up in Photoshop, so perhaps it won't be a problem after all. If I can get a tiff sequence to open in photoshop/after effects, this will be a non-issue!

BTW I tried Maya Hardware. I have a Radeon video card ((x capable), and the render looks like complete garbage! I will browse the forum and try to find out why!

Thanks again, NeoStrider!