Ooh! Tough one, Alex. It would seem that this change would take serious refactoring of some of the code.
But on the other hand, I think OC2PS is right. I think that if you are able to deliver this change, then NextGen Gallery will be able to leverage so much more in WordPress, and would become not just the best WordPress gallery, but the best Gallery script bar none, beating the likes of Gallery 3, Coppermine, Piwigo, etc
