ok finally got the vx back and its driving great - apparently the guy i talked to before was only reading me the parts price list (which he thought was the total) and the owner who i talked to when i picked it up said he was sorry i was misinformed

total price: $1485.00

on the bright side this fixed the bump stop problem of when i come to stop and then let off the brakes as well as the clunk that came with downshifting from second to first

...and it turns without making any noise

me = happy
my wallet = sad