The new numbering scheme totally threw me off a couple weeks ago: I flew in before they changed it and the next day A1 became gate 17 or something like that. Very confusing.
The walk really sucks. It's awful. The rental cars will be moving to the new garage across from terminal C. I'd leave about an extra 10 minutes to get from the curb to the gate now. The new terminal will be nice once it's fully open next year.