Gerund
Do you have a reference for phasing out of NDBs? Here in the UK they are used almost entirely only as beacons in IAPs - you fly over the top of them and after the beacon you maintain the outbound "radial" for a bit before doing the inbound turn. They can also be used for holds - much loved by IMC/IR instructors but rarely if ever actually used for that. They are not used for en-route navigation; VORs do that and there is no sign of those being phased out.
FFF
I think you are absolutely right - situational awareness is what's needed and that comes together after a while. I think most of the visualisation aids are more trouble than they are worth.