mejkor

I've seen one of these threads for general applications, but what about biology specifically? Do people who recently went through the application process have advice for choosing schools, interviews, GREs, GRE subject tests, SOPs, etc...?

Agreed.
Besides the personal peace of mind and the ability to ensure all your materials are in in time, no. The adcom will not meet before the deadline, and the review process does not account for when an app was submitted (provided it was submitted before the deadline). 

I'm currently a tech and have been at my current position for a year now (2 years total). Most of the positions I saw and applied to last year before graduating had 2 year commitments. I think 1 year is more normal at the NIH so you might want to consider applying for a postbac IRTA there.

How were you sure you wanted to apply to graduate school? What degree of boredom, tedium, and/or hopelessness is normal or acceptable to experience while doing research full time?