So at this point, it seems I need to find out if the system is leaking.

Point taken on doing it right. I will most likely find a shop to pull vacuum on it after we figure out what is wrong (if they don't charge near the cost of a good pump! Then I would just purchase one)

Thanks for the link. I just skimmed over it but will read it more in depth in a bit.

Can you be a little more specific on the 'nitrogen bottle'? Perhaps a link? Don't really know what you are referring to?

So is this the next step? Get a Nitrogen bottle and put some R22 in it? Then check for leaks?