Howdy Ya'll I thought I would update ya on the situation after talking with Tim. We spent some time talking, I might add that Tim is a great guy and did everything he could to answer my questions and get everything I needed situated. During the process he realized that the few that he thought were on hand were actually gone out the door already
Bummer... right? Well Tim worked some magic with the numbers
and I ended up getting an amazing deal on the 16" 3000 series, with free shipping, five blades, mobility kit... and a super duper deal on the driftmaster (will ship in a couple weeks it's on Back Order right now) The saw shipped yesterday, Tim promptly forwarded me the shipping info and now I get to play the waiting game.
While I was speaking with him, I asked about whether they were redesigning the DriftMaster fence, he told me what they are shipping now is a redesigned version (can't recall the details at the moment, and I don't want to speculate and stir the pot). I am going to miss the added 2" of resaw capacity... but a larger throat, bigger table, and hopefully less stress on 1" blades, will definitely make amends for it. I am anxious to try the beast out, I just had my friend (an electrician) come over and give me an estimate on a 220 line. I will definitely let you all know when it shows up and how everything goes! I really cant say enough about how helpful and professional Tim is.
Thanks for all of your input too, ya'll are the best!