Everyone, thanks for all your help. This forum is like the VW forums minus all the intermittent BS. I just sold my A6 last night so I might be ramping up my searching efforts.
About finding a good mechanic, I have a buddy with a low key shop, that has had a trooper for as long as I've known him (around 8 years) and i'd feel comfortable having him work on it, in fact I'm sure if I find one out of state that meets my requirements he'll be the one to fly out with me for the road trip home.
It sounds like there are some of you who DD your VX and some who only use it for fun. For you DD'ers out there do you have a back up vehicle, for when you are part hunting/fixing the VX, or is it reliable enough to have as an only car? I have a VW corrado, which I am driving now that the A6 is gone, and I am wondering if it will be worth it to keep around as a contingency plan, or if I should try to sell, to have more money to throw at a VX?
Thanks again to everyone for your help, this place is already more welcoming than the vortex...