lost contacts and notes after syncing to outlook for first time. iPhone 3G

Sounds like you performed a sync to an empty Outlook, correct? You never want to sync to an empty application. Doing so will erase the data on your phone. Before you do anything else, put one unique contact, calendar & note entry in Outlook.
As to restoring your lost data, the key question is have you performed a sync since the sync that erased your data? If not, restoring from backup will restore the data. If you have synced since that initial sync, your data is gone. So, if you have not synced, do this: First disable auto-sync in iTunes>Preferences>Devices(under the edit menu if using Windows). Connect your phone, right-click in the device pane & select Reset Warnings. Right-click again and select Restore from Backup. If prompted to create another backup, decline. When the restore completes, you must then sync to restore your iTunes content. Youll get a popup regarding your contacts, etc., asking to Merge or Replace. Select Merge.
MacBook Pro