I have a Brother XR-9000. I broke a needle and part of it went straight down into the needle area. My husband took the cover plate off and turned the machine upside down. The broken needle part came out. I was in a panic at the time too, so know how you feel. I just love mine for piecing also. I also did as several other people mentioned here, I programed mine to ALWAYS start in the middle.
My needle threader broke after a year. I had it to a repair shop recently and they told me it would cost as much to fix it as get a new machine (Mine cost under $200 at Costco.) Maybe I'll check with another repair facility to verify the amount of the new threader.
Good luck!