Wow thank you ALL for the great responses!
I found someone local who says he can probably fix my Singer today (I have a commissioned quilt to finish by the end of the month), which is good because the dealer says 2-3 weeks.
Once this quilt is done, I'm taking the money and adding it to my savings for a new machine.
I will go to a few of the local stores and try a bunch of machines, but now I have some place to start! I do think eventually I'd like a vintage machine too, because they are so gorgeous and I think it's true things used to be made better. :)
Thanks again!