Okay - I just got back from my mechanic's shop and I looked myself for the things that have been mentioned here...

First - in the glow plug relay, there is no place for the strip fuse whatsoever. I took the photos from dieselgiant.com with me and sure enough, there is no place for it. There looks to be a little spot of silicone or some other rubbery material over a metal spot, but no strip plug whatsoever.

Second - the spring by the belt tensioner IS there, but it is very loose. Could it be broken inside the black plastic/rubber tube? The belt is still basically floppy loose, too - no ideas what could be wrong/broken/missing.

Any thoughts? Does anybody have an idea what is different about my glow plug relay? What about that spring by the tensioner? This is very perplexing, but I'm keeping myself together - no freaking out yet!

Also - about my mechanic - since it is Friday and I will get no progress made anywhere else by having it towed elsewhere today, I'm going to leave it with him for now. Although he may not be an expert on my particular car, he is honest - and that counts for a lot. I have been taking other cars to him for 5 years and he has saved a couple cars for me. He is willing to put some time into it to help me, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt...

...but if he can't figure it out today, I'm having it towed somewhere else first thing Monday morning.