I am like 90% finished hybridizing my GXE interior into i30 all the way. I found 2 cars at the wrecking yard. A maxima with auto climate, and then a GXE model without one. Before I bought the part, I was trying to see if it would fit... But there seems to be a different wiring. The connectors don't fit, and I couldn't find anyway to swap the connectors without cutting. There's also some kind of vent with a hose attached to it for ABS, but I don't see that anywhere on the GXE.

I would like to get an auto woodgrain climate control in my dash, but is this pretty much impossible?

Yup, pretty much impossible. You'll need harnesses, interior and exterior sensors....the works. I can't think of one person who successfully pulled off this swap.

Damn. I was hopeful, but I never thought of it until it found out I could swap the faceplate and push radio drawer, even with my aftermarket radio.

Are the auto ac controls still holding up good at this point, if by some chance I did swap? I know some cars like Lincoln's and Caddilacs can be an electrical nightmare when they're 17 years old.

The full auto climate controls on these Maximas are just as reliable, if not more reliable (no blower motor resistor fail stories) like the standard climate control found in your GXE and base model SE's.

I've pulled two or three auto ones from the junkyard (not because mine broke, I was messing around with different LED back lighting). All of them worked flawlessly.