It's interesting that you say that MCPatcher isn't supported nor does it work, because older versions of MCPatcher, ModLoader and Forge have played just fine together on my computer. In fact, MCPatcher has been pretty essential for me to make what few mods I use install easily without hitching up the gameplay. Must've been coincidence, then.
Oh well. Let's hope Minecraft 1.3 shows up with due haste.
--Tuan