For years I used epson papers with a succession of epson photo printers and inks, with no problem at all. I let the printer manage all the colour, and had the print driver set to ICC matching. (I was using PS7 which doesnt have the option to overide the printer colour management).
Then after changing to lightroom as my main output software, and finding the hahnemuhle range of fine art matte papers, this system no longer worked. After a lot of trial and error, and help from memebers here, I ended up developing my own profiles for the matte papers I use, which has really improved my results.
For matte papers, the layers are a bit different to the glossy/semi-gloss finishes you use Chris - and the texturing of fine art finishes gives a different feel as well. I dont have that backlit glow that you describe, but do get what I can only describe as [i][i]depth of colour from the paper while preserving a lot of fine detail. The downside of matte papers - blocking of the shadows - doesnt seem to be a problem if you allow for it in the profile, and I can maintain pretty good shadow detail as well as a good dense black.
I used the syder3 print profiling software and colorimeter, which while a bit time consuming, was straightforward to use, and produced good results.
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