Rick,
Having to login multiple times should only affect you when you move from one subsystem to another. Such as moving from the forums to the new site. Or from the new site to the old. We are working on a method to reduce the number of times that you are required to login but that solution is not in place yet.
Is there a certain page or section that is requiring you to login more than once?
Are you checking the "Remember Me" checkbox before you click the login button?
What Computer OS and browser are you using?
When you receive the permission denied message trying to view the membership directory were you already logged in? Could you try the following link to see if you can view the membership directory on the new site:
http://www.gcsaa.org/Community/Membership-Directory.aspx? It will require that you login first.
You also mention that you have seen bugs in the site. What types of errors are you receiving? If you could give some more information on the bugs like what page you were attempting to visit then we can begin tracking them down and solving them.