In terms of mainstream AutoCAD, 2008 was sweet for the many improvements to the 2D features. But 2011 was just released, and its user interface will be a shock. It does of course have further improvements and enhancements, and I think if you also go on subscription you can access 3 versions back. As Dean noted, the Inventor LT suite includes AutoCAD LT and the price is reasonable. With Inventor LT you get part-level 3D capability too...
I hope my info was useful, but if by some odd chance it actually solved your issue, feel free to mark your post as "Accept as Solution". Thanks! 🙂