Welcome to the club . . . Let the addiction begin (I think you already have the bug given your comments about selling off all of your virtual pins to buy another real one).

I've been into pinball going on 6 years now (a noob by most standards), but our paths were sort of the same. I wanted to build my own virtual pin with all the feedback mechs, etc. Then I went to TPF, played the state-of-the-art v-pins and then I played the real thing. My mind was immediately changed, and I knew I wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than a real pin.

I do want to clarify that having a preference for real pins does not demean/diminish the place that v-pins have for many people. As you stated, they are a completely different experience. If you want sort of a hybrid approach, you need to check out the P3 machines by Multimorphic. They are a unique experience with all of the physical attributes of a real pin coupled with an interactive video screen as the playfield.

Oh, and as I'm sure you have already learned, in the pinball world it's quite easy for your eyes to be bigger than your wallet.