The answer to all of this lies in the Dragons Den of Colour management. You are like the guy with two wristwatches that can't tell the correct time. A lot of mainstream monitor manufacturers are sending guff out in software form to give you "The Optimum viewing experience" or some other such crap. Every monitor is slightly and in some cases, very different. As an example, go and have a look at the TV section in Currys or some other hellhole. They are all spouting the same rubbish from BBC or whoever, but they all have different colours and some markedly. So. where is the answer? It lies within hardware calibration of the monitor, so that colours are reliable, consistent and accurate.
A sensor is placed upon the screen and the software fires known values of colour and luminence at it. What it sees, it measures and reports back to the software, the difference being supplied to the video card as a calibration curve. It works a treat and like everything else that Conan buys, it halves in price the next day. If you are serious about colour fidelity, it is the way to go. There are various and quite crude applets within most graphics packages. Paintshop Pro was mentioned and most leading programs have some sort of gamma adjustment within. If you are lucky, this might do the trick, but if you still aren't happy, then the hardware calibration route should nail it. PM me if you need any further details.
When it comes to printing, you need the screen to be spot on for the printer to even stand a chance. The cost of photo paper and ink is frightening, so it is an economic choice after only a few months.
Conan
Late edit. Colour profiles supplied with monitors and printers can ba a nightmare. Don't trust them.