Just converted from 757 to A320 earlier this year. Both are easy to fly with manual thrust, especially on approach. The lack of pitch couple on the 320 is balanced by the larger quadrant on the 757, which made it easier to set an accurate power setting and make small changes.
Flew 757s with and without speed tape, and can't say it made a major difference either way, though I'm still trying to get a feel for the speed trend arrow on the airbus.
Regards
Victor Mike