It seems when I view my lighting in the Texture Preview mode it is quite a bit different than what it actually is when I do a full render. The problem with that is it takes 30 or so minutes for my scene to fully render only to find that the lights were too low and need adjustment and then through go through the lengthy process again.

I have poser 8.

Is there a way of getting a good idea of what the lighting is like rather than having to go through the time consuming full render?

You can do a much lower quality render .

Bagginsbill I believe had a light meter prop on his site that will help you check the light level at various places. http://sites.google.com/site/bagginsbill/file-cabinet

There is an option to do a partial render - of a specific small area. Look under the render menu

Set your render settings low and render @ 500 x 500.  That should be quick enough to get a good idea.

You should have 3-5 or more preset settings based on what you are trying to do.  A lighting render should only have the basics in it.

Are you running open Gl or sreed in preview?
And indeed, do partial renders to check the result.