Grace's bag of import tricks
Well, it wasn't a large bag, but I consistently used the tricks in it to help customers with puzzling import questions when I supported The Raiser's Edge. The "tricks" are pretty simple, but they may come in handy the next time you tackle an import.
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Use the Fields tab or create an import file to find out what your options are. If I want to see what fields are available for a particular type of import, I select Create an import file on the General tab of the import, enter any characters in the Import file field, and go to the Fields tab. Here, you can browse through the available fields and select them to view the header. You can also click Click here on the bottom left to view the relevant page of the Import Guide for details on which fields are required and what kind of data go in those fields. If I'm updating existing records, I just go ahead and create a real import file, update the data in the fields, and import it back in, knowing it's already formatted correctly.
Note: You can only include one-to-many fields in the import file created through the Import facility. For example, if you're creating a constituent import file, you can't export phone numbers or anything that can occur more than once per record.
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Go ahead and shove in the data. OK, so this isn't always practical in your live data, but give it a try in your sample data with a few of the records from your actual data file. Or if you are able to set up a standalone workstation with a copy of your live data attached, give it a try there to see how the import works with your real data. If you're not able to test in sample or on a standalone machine, back up your live data and test with a few "dummy records" or one or two records you know very well and don't mind playing with (maybe your own). I often find it easier to troubleshoot problems if I can see exactly what happens when I click Import Now.
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Use the sample data files in Knowledgebase. I have no problem with plagiarizing when it comes to data files. I love copying the sample data files onto my machine and updating them with my own data. Hey, if someone else has tested the files for you, why not use them? (And for quite a few of them, that someone would be yours truly. 
) Search Knowledgebase with "How to import [whatever it is you're importing]." The solutions with "(includes sample data file)" in the title have a file available to view and download. You can import them into your sample database to see what they do, or you can replace the data with your own.
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When in doubt, check extensions. Sometimes I just can't figure out why I'm getting an exception. My data file looks correct, and I've tried everything in Knowledgebase I can find on the exception error. More often than not, a messed up extension is the culprit. If you're importing certain fields (like phone numbers or addresses) more than once, make sure each group of fields has the same extension. Sometimes, just one field will have the wrong extension, and that will throw everything else off.
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Don't import after 4:00 in the afternoon. A customer told me this one, and I think she got it from a Blackbaud consultant. We may not always have a choice, but whenever possible try not to import or do anything else "global" in nature when your mind's not fresh. I know the cells in my data file all start looking the same late in the afternoon, so I wouldn't want to take a risk if I were working in an organization's live data.
If you have any tips for making imports easier, feel free to share them here!