So whats changed in the last 1 and a half years

[TEF]

Would I still have my $400mil if I came back on or would I have to start all over again?

This should answer that question...

[9:58:12PM] <%TEF> !players MaoriBoy
[9:58:13PM] <+Nowani> MaoriBoy has been online for 287 hours and 7 minutes. The player has killed 288 people so far, and has died 454 times him/herself, which makes a ratio of 0.63. He/She has scored 72 points in the reaction test so far. MaoriBoy is a player on Las Venturas Playground, and last was online at 19-01-2008 01:40.
[9:58:17PM] <%TEF> !getvalue MaoriBoy bank
[9:58:17PM] <&Nuweni> Value of field 'bank': 400000000

If you need more information, you should read some of the wiki. (You may want to take some extra time reading up on this particular subject, by the way.) That should tell you most of what you need to know, but if not you can always ask a crew member (or any other player) in-game.