AGE, I'm also using a Network Extender at home due to really poor Verizon signal. I find that the Fascinate doesn't even report a strong signal when in the same room as the NE. My Droid would get down to -67 or so. The Fascinate shows -85 dBm when its literally 12 feet away from the extender.
As for the cell standby issue, it might be a bug with the software. Droid Eris and even Droid 1 owners sometimes had this issue. The cell standby shouldn't be any higher than the teens, it definitely shouldn't be 30% or more.
Xliderider - with it over my head and behind me by 4', I range from 2 to 4 bars with a signal of no better than -86 dBm. I consider this good in my book as I don't think I have ever seen anything better than an -84 or so with my Storm... and that's anywhere and I travel everywhere... I dream of "decent" signals

AGE