I appreciate all the replies!
I guess my confusion with the underexposure is based on how MUCH it sometimes underexposes....like a shot I took of a duck recently. Overcast, not much difference in any part of the scene (metered at different parts, all within a stop or two no big highlights (like sun on water) or dark spots. It wasn't really bright out, but much brighter than the image came out. It exposed by a full step and a half, which seemed odd, but seems consistent with some of the results I'm getting...I know a portion of that is all me and my amateur skills, but it just seemed odd.
My RAW shots are usually a little dark and lifeless pre post processing, but I seem to be getting the same effect with jpegs too, which struck me as odd. Oh well, off to experiment some more
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