Well, I went to Panasonic's website to find a list of repair centers in my area and I plan on calling a few in the morning. Hopefully one of them can hit the price I'm hearing from you guys. Anything 300 or under is a definite go in my book as I wasn't budgeting for a new tv until I buy my house next year. Though as an aside, I already started scoping out new sets and part of me is a little heartbroken that I won't have to buy a new one
Of course if the smart choice is to just fix this one.