Throw out bearing?

I just recently fixed the engine on my 87 stanza and not a month later, the transmission goes out. Or so it seems. What happened was just a loss of power completely. I can rev the engine as high as it wants to go and still it will move less than a mile an hour out of first gear. Clutch was smoking and console above the transmission actually got pretty warm. Had to get it towed home. A person I know who's good with cars says it is probably the throw-out bearing which, according to him, can be just an $80 fix. Comments/suggestions? thanks.

Jeff