I've had a lot of time to think and study on this today. I badly sprained my foot last night, so much so that I couldn't put any weight on it whatsoever. First thing this morning, my wife got up and went to Walgreen's to buy me crutches just so I could get into the doctors office. At any rate, I took a sick day at work, so I've had pools on the brain all day long.
The Sharkline Matrix with the SWCG and fancy robotic pool cleaner was going to put me near or above 4K, and that was scrimping on important stuff like electrical work. So, I've rethought things a bit, and here's a scaled back shopping list. All from PoolSupplyWorld unless stated otherwise.
Sharkline Heritage - $1,126 (I think I can learn to love this over the Matrix)
Pentair SD60 Sand Filter/Pump - $368 WestSideWholesale.com
Foam Cove - $76
Unibead Pool Liner - $291
Wall Foam - $59
Wall Foam Adhesive - $28
Liner Pad - $114
A-Frame Ladder - $141
Solar Cover - $69 HomeDepot.com
Winter Cover - $43
Pool Filter Sand - $65 AceHardware.com
TFP Lifetime Membership - $30 TFPools
TF-100 Test Kit - $59 TFTestkits.net
Misc. Cleaning Supplies - Approx. $75 ?????
Total Price - $2,529
This doesn't include any tools I'll need to get to install pool, copper wire for bonding, pavers for pool rails and pump, sand for the bottom, or running electricity to the site, chemicals for the pool, hoses/adapters I might need to install the filter/pump (I have no idea how to do that), but at least this way I can afford to buy all that stuff.
As per all of your suggestions, I will keep an eye on Craigslist, etc. and see what pops up on there before I purchase. I'm thinking it'll be end of February, first week of march before I buy. I'm a school teacher, hoping to get much of the pool install done during spring break (might be a month or so too early to swim here in Arkansas, but that will give me plenty of time to get the hang of managing pool chemistry.)
Thanks for all the suggestions so far! Still don't think my shopping list is 100% there yet, but perhaps we're getting closer.