Freedom in Christ, Not License to Sin

Regarding Catholic Guilt, a commenter posted about her inability to sometimes know what was sin because in her previous denomination she was told to consult the Bible because all the "answers are in there." Well, as it turns out, many of the specific answers aren't there. As Catholics we are thankful for the Sacred Tradition of the Church and the Magisterium to guide us when the waters get murky. I have been so amazed at the way in which the Catechism deals with issues that were couldn't possibly be answered with just a "plain reading" of scripture. I am not denigrating scripture here since Catholics believe it is God's word, but nowhere does scripture say it is the last and only word regarding faith and morals. (This concept has been discussed in previous posts)
I use to pride myself on the ability to "embrace the tension between modern culture and biblical christianity." Unfortunately, this sometimes led to embracing the modern culture a bit too tightly! Meaning, with no clear-cut guidelines on certain aspects of morality, a person can fall into sin believing they are "free in Christ" but actually become enslaved to sin and not be free at all. Did my "freedom in Christ" really benefit me when I took no serious thought to what movies I rented containing vile language or graphic sexuality and violence because the "story was relevant" and they were only rated R?
Wasn't I committing fairly significant sin when I later replayed those graphic scenes through the flash memory in my mind? (I think Jesus referred to it as adultery) This soon becomes a slippery slope for some of us as the Catechism says:

Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root.

The Church is not legalistic, but helps to show us the damage that sin can do to us as Christians. I believe my Catholicism has helped me to better hear Jesus' call for a life spent in attempting to be holy for He is holy. At some point in my previous life, I gave up on that possibility thinking, I can never be holy so "this is all you're gonna' get from me God." I have benefited greatly from reading the lives of the saints who struggled as we do and yet came out victorious and satisfied in their hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Have any of you other convert/reverts experienced more conviction of sin and desire for holiness since converting? It would be interesting to see your thoughts.