I have found it is possible to sync with outlook, without having to use google at all. though now that I have migrated everything over, I may stick with google for now, at least till the next time I have to set up the phone again, like when I put 2.1 on it.

http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-eris/15396-my-tutorial-syncing-eris-outlook-without-google.html

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