I'm a fairly new addition to the world of software contracting and I often have trouble trying to express my feelings about full-time work and the justification of the amount I charge (which so far has been below normal contractor rates). Thank you for explaining your point view in an eloquent way, it's helpful :)
I've had a few (1/10) recruiters help me get consulting gigs. I prefer to pull my own however. You are better at selling yourself to the right gig than any recruiter could be.