Sorry to hear about your loss Matt.
And wow, you've had some real adventures with choosing the right Mac for you, too. I hope that, if you do get a MBP, that it'll be the absolutely perfect machine for your needs
I'm also relieved that you're an AASP - I think a normal dude like me would be even more devastated, since there's no way I could fix it myself and I wouldn't want to have to pay if it's mainly cosmetic!
Here's wishing you all the best man!