Beth (Soccertxi)--great advice about keeping a notebook of problems & fixes! I'm going to start doing that myself--I have a notebook with a manual from a repair class i took, with other hand-outs,etc--but so much is learned from having an actual problem.
I was frustrated last week and had finally decided to call a local tech to arrange a repair visit. His first words were, ok, have you walked away from the machine and caught your breathe? If not, do so now! " as it turned out, he walked me through it and I didn't spend any $$!