Thanks for your responses and sorry it took so long to reply. everyone! Mosin, I travel a bunch, but if you can let me know when & how to get in touch, I'll be happy to chat. This whole thing has me in a bit of a quandry.
I'd never heard of Applied Fidelity before, but you can be sure I will be in touch with them, Audpulse. The only other firm I've found in the past couple of days willing to tackle the project was Audio Origami in Scotland. It's a tricky job and no mistake, but I'd prefer to work with someone in the US if I can.
The Graham Phantom II Supreme and Tri-Planar VII Ultimate II have both gotten my attention, Buconero. I've got a tickle into Sota to make sure the TriP can fit; I also considered a JMW but that's a no-go because of size. The big thing for me is VTA adjustment on the fly - it makes a tremendous difference with the variety of vinyl I have. I've made a stab at getting re-packs or like-new used units here, and missed each one so far. Going new, well, that's more than I would prefer to invest if I can avoid it.
I'll look forward to hearing back from you all with your input. I'll respond as quick as I can. Thanks again!