Quote Originally Posted by Kayaker72
The lens could focus in front of my target or behind my target, but never on my target.

I sold my 50mm f/1.8 before I got a body with AF microadjust, so I don't know if I would have had the same experience as you or not. However, one thing I would mention is this: only the center point autofocus has the f/2.8 accuracy, and even then it's only rated to 1/3 DOF. So if you haven't already, try seeing if it's consistant at f/3.5 or so (let autofocus run wide open at f/1.8). If it works that way, then you're probably getting normal results (the limitation of the autofocus system). If it's still inconsistent, then the problem is elsewhere.