I can understand your frustration. I have been there more than my fair share of times. In all honesty your best bet will be to get a XBOX 360 controller.
There are working drivers for XP, vista and Win7 right now. For both the wired and wireless. Not to mention since it is a M$ product you know that as long as the XBOX is around they will have drivers for their OS. The controller has worked in Win7 through out the Beta.
While it may not be ideal for you and your gaming style. It is worth the investment.