you can't avoid that when you need to maintain custom server controls, coz you need to keep track with many properties, read a book please.
there many things u have to understand server behavior, especially when you are building many custom controls, you have to know what's the event life cycle, know when and what thing will happen, so that how to bind the data
if the project is changed to PHP? Haha, that's really a joke, It's so irrelevant to the original issue., in that case, u have to fire your project manager or BA. How come they don't understand a customer's need and budget, how come a customer will change such a huge project to a totally different platform in the middle?
anyway, it seems none of your point is about the original issue, what r u doing here actually?