lots of applicats agree that 4.0 on AWA is a minimum requirement for some top schools, specially if you are a international student. If your essays are pertty strong with AWA 3.5, Adcom will think something is fishy about your essay. But i did hear some people got into top 10 with a crappy 3.5 AWA. So probably some schools don't even check your AWA. Maybe before you apply to a school, you should ask the adcom how they weigh AWA.
Get ur AWA regraded. My awa got regraded to 4.0 from 3.5. What u need to do is merely a phone call and paying serial bucks. Check out the instructions on the official website for more detail.
Why take this exhausting exam again without first trying this? To me it really works. Though it's not guaranteed to make a change, u should be smart enough to make a decision.
Should you don't retake G and get offers from the top 30, u will definitely say: luck!(after U have finish the longthy and blood application road). However, should u don't get any offer, u will definitely cry:why didn't I follow CD on March, 2004?