forms howto ?

I need to biuld a rather complex form to store data and then retrive it via the views module.
What is the best way for handling forms ? I've figured out I've two options.

-1 cck : build a huge new type by hand and use fieldgroup to logically related part of the form.
Pros. easy to do.
Cons. very very boring, not very flexible. no multi page forms.

-2 building a module and using the formapi.
Pros: more complex to do. great flexibility. multi page form
Cons. more difficult to maintain.

Is there a middle ground ? something like, using cck from a module to build and update the form, but
then use formapi to display my fields (maybe in multiple pages) ?

Is there a documented cck api that I can use to build my forms ?

thanks.

p