have you tried zooming the map? Never really had much trouble figuring out where I was on the map in most zones. Now, some are freakishly annoying to navigate because of screwy landscape physics and hidden, one-way, or blocked paths that don't show on a map--but otherwise it's not too hard to find just where you are to get your position.

It also gives you your position in the upper left corner (like I-7) so you can kinda eyeball which direction you need to head if you are trying to get to G-8--west and a little south in that case (compass in lower left corner). You can also just type /echo <pos> and it will spit out that position as well without ever pulling up the map.