Here is a monograph on tryptophan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan

The general feeling is that much of the hoohaa was due to pressure from Eli Lilly to remove it, as it was a competitor for the newly introduced Prozac. As the article states, tryptophan was never completely removed from sale...only as a stand alone product. It was safe enough for baby formula back then!

I find tryptophan gentle and easy to tolerate. 5-HTP can cause alot of side effects, IMO. I had extreme edginess, and irritability from 100mg a day of 5-HTP.
Tryptophan for me only causes sleepiness in the beginning, hence I take it at bedtime. (there is less competition at the transporter at this time too).

Some doctors use l-tryptophan now, to ease the symptoms of SSRI withdrawal syndrome, when people discontinue drugs like Paxil and its cousins. SSRI's actually lower serotonin synthesis, because the brain cells do not need to manufacture it as much since it is not being cycled, and it remains in the synapse. In fact serotonin byproducts decrease in the CSF during treatment with SSRIs. Tryptophan may be introduced when the levels of SSRI drug are withdrawn, and may help prevent some of the unpleasant patient reported effects of the discontinuance. This should be monitored by the doctor, of course.

I don't think jumping in with high doses is necessary. I am still at 500mg a day, which is really quite low. That is in the range of food sources. Taking tryptophan in the gram ranges, is another issue IMO. It is also expensive at those doses. I always recommend slowly introducing amino acids, since people vary considerably in response to them. (their own genetic situation concerning amino acid ratios can vary tremendously from person to person).