What's the best way to get Pump it Up working?

I have my own Pump it Up machine running StepF2, however the song sorting options are woeful, trying to find a particular song can take several minutes.
It doesn't bother me at all if I have to use DDR style scoring etc but using the pads for all menu selection would help. I can put buttons on the front of my cab if I have to though.

On a semi-related note, will the StepF2 simfiles work on a normal stepmania build?

dunno about StepF2, but I just run everything default on my pump cab, it works just fine with pad controls

I haven't had simfile compatibility problems, but if they're files for AMX they might not work.

Oh I didn't even realise the default stepmania install had piu support!

StepF2 is based on Stepmania, I'm just not sure how far deviated it has become, I have seen references to stepchart formatting in the changelog. No harm in trying though.