LOL it is mostly that spring which has me worried to be honest!

I'll be taking it to my local independent mechanic on Tuesday to have it lifted up and he agreed to give me a diagnosis, though I know for sure the lower control arm bearings are shot on the left hand driver's side and if their not the root of the problem, they are certainly not helping!

My thoughts are to be a bit conservative and let a shop take care of what I would consider more intermediate fixes requiring immediate attention (i.e. the lower control arms), and then taking care of the easier fixes on my own as I build confidence with components which aren't mission-critical. I'm going to buy the higher-end parts tonight for the bushings and the ball bearings.

Thanks for everyone's help and I'll let you what happens.