I'm mobile again, WAHOOOO!
 

So the beast finally got fixed. Got a used tranny out of an S-10 from a local salvage yard. Got the swap w/ fluid fill & ECM reset for $525 & the mechanic was nice enough to replace my rear main seal for the cost of the gaskets ($35) =). Weird thing though, I had a really bad squeal coming from the engine. I had replaced the tension & idler pulley, alt, & a/c pump with no luck. Got my truck back today and it's quieter than my girlfriend's Honda! Now I just gotta get the seal replaced in the rear differential and I'll be set for awhile!

SWEET! That Mech hooked you up! That diff seal is easy too! You could do it yourself.

The mechanic said it's the seal where the driveshaft enters the diff. He also mentioned something about disturbing bearings when working on it...??? He quoted me @ $125 for the seal & labor.

Seems kind of high.. If you really mess up, you can disturb the bearings, but not if you do the repair the proper way. Air tools can make this a 20 minute job if you know what you are doing.

Basically you need to mark the nut and the shaft and take note of how many threads are exposed (snap a picture once the mark is on there). Then zip off the nut and pull the pinion flange. Pry the old seal out. Tap in the new seal. Reinstall the pinion flange and then the pinion nut. Tighten slowly until you reach the proper exposed thread count with the alignment marks aligned. Go too far and you could overload the bearings inside.

I think that includes a diff cover gasket & fluid swap, not sure though. Anyway, I can just get you guyz to do a house call, right??? =)

Be there in 10!