@LtSarge San An is a weird one. I bought it on Day 1 back in 2004 and it was the best thing ever back then. Me and my mate played it in some form almost every weekend until probably late 2007.
I'm the other way round, I love the driving missions, the more mindless the better. Driving in GTA games is one of my favourite gaming activities, particularly in III and San Andreas.
I could drive around and listen to the radio stations for hours, proper chills me out. Conversely, I hate any mission involving shooting, or getting out of my car whatsover!
I played the definitive edition last year and I agree with everything else you've said. The turf capturing stuff is a nightmare and the checkpointing system makes even the most intolerable missions bearable.
The story doesn't fully deliver on its early promise in my opinion and yeah… don't get too attached to your ammo. I always felt it was slightly overrated, even though I played it loads back in the day.