my story is a bit like yours, but with the opposite ending.
my first 1911 was a norinco commander. it wasn't my first handgun, but it was my first 1911. at first i liked it, but the more i held it at various range sessions, the more i got to hating it. the loud clanking noises, the skinny & hard-to-grip profile (i have huge hands), and the annoying need to use the thumb safety. i actually got to the point where i wanted to throw the 1911 at the targets - or if i were to drop it accidentally onto gravel, i wouldn't bother to pick it up and i'd just kick it to where i was going. it seemed that everyone who shot a 1911 and loved it seemed to love it for nostalgia, a reminder of a bygone era - in many cases an era that happened way before they were even born.
so anyhoo, the norinco got sold. i decided that the 1911 just wasn't the type of gun that i would enjoy shooting, even if i ignored the ammo cost (i shot mostly wolf reloads)
a year goes by.... i'm in the USA on a business trip, and hit up a few gun stores to put my hands on their wares. along the way, out of sheer curiosity, i ask to see the RIA 1911 and the Sig 1911 that was laying right beside it. there may have been a Kimber in the case too but i can't recall if i tried it. anyhoo, i always liked the Sig slide profile (hey, i like Burn Notice and that 229 is on my buy list). right, so i'm grabbing the RIA and i gotta say - this feels TOTALLY different from the norc. smooth, crisp, quiet. and then the Sig - same thing, and even better. trigger break that's SO clean, slide that moves as if it's on ball-bearings.
due to other things - i quit shooting for a year or so. maybe 18 months.
then as i start to dust off the toys, and start poking around dealer sites, a specific 1911 catches my eye and stories of the Ruger SR1911 are all over - range reports, tear-downs, etc.
now, i have two 1911s in my safe - the Ruger, and a Sig.
AND I FREAKIN' LOVE THEM!!!
(and now, i'm eyeing more 1911s and 1911-derivatives, in non-45 calibers too)