Well I pulled the trigger and had the local mechanic pull the alternator. He ended up rebuilding it and replaced the brushes on the regulator. The temperature's been in the low 20's over the past few days so the car has had to start cold everytime. When I went to pick it up last night, it had sat for some time. It started right up. Checked the voltage and it read 14.4 versus the 13.65 or 13.25 with a load the day before. I drove it home and it sat overnight outside until this morning. When I turned the key, it fired right up again. It appears that the problem has been fixed - a total of $160.00 + tax for the rebuild.

Thanks for all the replies - I have printed out the other avenues referred by several of the members in case the problem resurfaces. At least I will have a starting point.