I understand you on the prices. I starting rolling smokes when the price got higher years back.
I didn't see it worth spending tons a month when I could roll them for cheaper.
As far as using smoke juice with the NPro, I have. I use Johnson Creeks found here
http://ecigforum.net/johnsoncreeksmokejuice.php and love it. I just used my empty cartridges to put the juice in.
If you go with them I rec. the sample pack to find the flavor you like the best.
It really varies on how much to use. I usually just fill the cartridge with 7-8 drops and enjoy. (the sample pack juice comes in little glass dropper bottles. Get some empty eye drop style kind and then you dont have to worry about dropping the bottles and breaking them

)
Cost is great in comparison to buying cartridges all the time.