Downgrade iphone 2G from 3.0 to 2.2.1

[JERECHO]

I have an iphone 2G that I wanted to upgrade from 2.2.1 to 3.0 firmware. Instead of syncing to itunes before I did it I open ssh'd into it and copyied the address book to my desktop (SQLITEDB file) then upgraded to 3.0
After jailbreaking I ssh'd back into the phone and replace the address book file with the one on my desktop and now the phone wont work. I think I need to get back to 2.2.1 and replace the address book so I can copy all my contacts back the way they were. Does anyone know how to downgrade?

[strongesthylian]

Put your phone into DFU mode (the phone's screen should be black when iTunes recognizes the phone in recovery mode), then hold (shift on Windows) (option on Mac OS X) and click Restore. Choose the firmware, and then restore.

Why couldn't you just backup the contacts through iTunes and then restore them on 3.0?

My thinking is that the SQLITEDB files in 2.2.1 and 3.0 are significantly different, which is why it's screwing up.