Hi emperessally. I'm really glad you found this board. What a talented, encouraging and helpful group of people live here!!!
I hope you come back a lot, and show us pics of your projects.
It sounds like you have lots of time to search for the perfect machine for you, if you are waiting until May.
I did this same search a couple of years ago.
I did something very similar to what AStitchInTime did. I found the machine I wanted, then found a great deal for it online, and then took a printout of all the goodies and the price to my nearest dealer.
She took the list, put it all together, added some thread and free lessons at her shop for as long as I needed / wanted them. She also invited me to her monthly longarmers group... sort of a 1 hour class plus show and tell and snacks and coffee/tea/water.
This dealer owned her own shop, and she is the most amazing person.
Anyway, I learned that the dealer you find is almost as important as the machine you buy. In the beginning, you may be leaning on them heavily...for set up, classes, trouble shooting, and maintenance, stuff like that.
I'm sad because my dealer has moved to another state.
Good luck to you, and happy quilting!