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Following is the dates of release of the CLP series for more than a decade:

1998 CLP-810, CLP-820, CLP-840, CLP-860, CLP-880
2000 CLP-920, CLP-930, CLP-950, CLP-955, CLP-970, CLP-970A
2001 CLP-910, CLP-990
2002 CLP-110, CLP-120, CLP-130, CLP-150, CLP-170
2005 CLP-F01
2006 CLP-220, CLP-230, CLP-240, CLP-265GP, CLP-295GP
2008 CLP 300 Series (320, 330, 340, 370, 380, S-306, S-308)
2011 CLP 400 Series (430, 440, 465GP, 470, 480, S-406, S-408)

From the CLP880 to the 100 series to the 400 series today, is there any vast improvement in sound and touch?

Touch: From GH to GH3 (GH3 was already in the 100 series, and still used today)

Sounds: AWM2 Dynamic stereo sampling/Half-damper effect/Key-Off Samples/Stereo Sustain Samples/String Resonance

Is there a dramatic improvement in sounds from the 100 series (2002) to the 400 series (2011) in almost a decade?

Feel free to compare similarly for Kawai and Roland too. See whether Kawai and Roland made significant improvements in their DP technology (most importantly, the sounds and touch).

Dramatic improvement in sound and touch? YES!
Could / should be way better? ABSOLUTELY!!!

Not much change for the better. The biggest difference between a new unit and the ones released in 2000/2001 is wear and tear!

And in some respects, things have become worse. The top end CLP9xx models were better than what came later!

The main "improvement" is that a few capabilities found only in the $2000-$5000 range pianos back then are now found in low-end keyboards. Same capabilities, lower price. But this makes the high-end pianos not such a good deal.

If you cast a wider net and include Kawai, the picture changes. Kawai has advanced the art quite a bit.

The action has actually changed very little. GH3 is almost (if not completely) identical to GH mechanically. It just has three sensors.

The sound has improved and changed over time, but in a very incremental fashion. It's actually a little surprising how little it has changed in many cases. Of course I wasn't really listening to digitals before I went shopping for my first one in 2001, so I'm not sure about the earliest models on your list.

At some point early on Yamaha started including partial pedal and multi-layer sampling. Those were significant improvements. In the last few years it's been quite difficult to tell in what way the new pianos are better than the previous generation.

I think there have been a huge technological gap between 1998 and 2012. DP's are now infinitely better than a few years ago, it's a constantly improving industry.

For instance, I have the chance to play usually some CLP 120's because in my country they were bought massively in conservatoires and music schools. I also recently tried the CLP-480. Needless to say they are different worlds. The 120 is artificial and plastic like, both in sound and touch. It's very difficult to play demanding pieces on it. By opposite, the 480 is a dream to play. It has a superb sound, very natural and rich, and the touch is quite realistic.

Of course the Roland HP-305 I own is also great. I have sometimes the sensation it has something acoustic or real inside, I almost can feel the hammers striking the strings sometimes. Of course this is an illusion but I can feel nothing of this on the CLP-120.

Anyway, the 470-480 has a new keyboard named Linear Graded Hammer, which I think it's the substitute for the GH3, that is, in my opinion, a bit old and unrealistic for today's standards. Maybe is time for Yamaha to renew all model's actions, not only those on top line.

In the last few years we have lived a spectacular improvement in sound producing (key off, resonance samples, Real Grand Expression and SuperNatural semi-modeled engines, new amplifier+speaker systems, hybrid pianos, fully modeled, etc.). I my humble opinion, can't be compared a CLP-120 or older with a brand new DP. They are just not in the same league.