Besides time, what's stopping you from digging in yourself?
1.) Use the logic you have
2.) Post to Pinside with questions, things you've tried
3.) Stern will still help you to a certain extent, I called them just the other day regarding a TSPP that I couldn't find a cap for and he was able to give me advice on a replacement
At $1,800, This might be a good game to learn on. The only thing that sucks is the physical local of that switch. It's sucky.
Quoted from Pinfidel:Believe me, I think this is a great deal. I just talked with him. Great guy too.
If I was in driving distance I would buy it because I'd save all that shipping money and just put it right into fixing the machine.
My biggest problem is that I don't even have a tech even remotely close to me to work on my machines. I'm sincerely hoping to meet a fellow Pinside neighbor who knows the ins and outs of machines so that I could rely on him to take a quick drive over and work on them for me.
EDIT: Ah, you're not in driving distance.