Just a thought, Slim.... You might want to rescue your car from this repair shop. You're already concerned about the knowledge level you've encountered there, and the tech's recommendation that you take it to the dealer sounds like either unwillingness or inability. The steep price tag to answer your question also provides incentive to go elsewhere. If you're able to work on it at home, having it towed there would buy you some time to perform some troubleshooting on your own. This would give you an improved knowledge base to deal from when speaking with other technicians. Plus, you can reach out to the experience and knowledge available on this forum without concern as to deadlines. At worst, you're out the cost of towing. At best, you just saved over a thousand dollars. Just a thought...