[V_Dub_Wagon]

Well, I did it... sadly, without the help from anyone here, as much as it would have been appreciated. FYI... it was the tensioner... I had to put the radiator in the "service position" which is basically where you remove the bumper, put some long bolts in the bumper and you can slide the front end like 4-5 inches forward w/o disconnecting the radiator. I bought a Haynes manual, and it was fairly accurate, and the work wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. It didn't mention that I needed to disconnect the turning signals or fog lights, but I figured that out. Also, the pull tab for the front hood latch is kinda tricky, so I just left the grill dangling on that thing. I found a Dayco tensioner at Advanced Auto,in stock, for $54. I live in the Chicago area, and its cold, so I left the water pump for the springtime when it warms up. My baby can use a coolant flush as well as some other things, so I'll tackle it all when I'm not freezing my ass off.
I see some folks took a gander at this post, but didn't comment... if anyone has any questions.. lemme know