i know mate but my site is over 4 years old (as well as the satellite sites are over 2-3 years old). I was #1 for about one and half years in two keywords (2009-2010) then went down to page 2 since june 2010. With my SEO efforts for more than half year, I finally took my rankings back in March but it only lasted until early May (before the latest panda update hit me really hard)
I have been doing link pushes since early this year although back then i wasnt as aggressive as nowadays (as of now Im in 12 link pushes/month plan). I know about link variation as well, that's what i've been doing since last year (which really helped me to regain my #1 ranking in two keywords for march and april). It doesnt seem to be working anymore though with the latest panda update this may.
I wonder where else can I get effective link building. I mean, you said yourself link pushes alone won't help me compete with these big spenders in my keywords. That's why i am really curious what else. I cant keep relying on the same services and tools, i've been posting to BMR, linkvana, ezarticlelink, and AMR. I need to find new sources to post my backlinks. I've been using SB and xrumer too but i doubt if they are still that effective.
As of now (beside of link pushes), i've been doing linkpwns as well (georgebg service), i really hope both link push and linkpwns can really help me.