Am I asking too much?

That’s pretty sad.

@millercarbon -  lol, love the passion! I set up my current cartridge with a borrowed Dr. Feichert, but that was a$450 Hana EL - much lower stakes.  Happy to do it again, but do believe a local dealer would want to nurture a relationship.  

Dream on! Here in Seattle the only relationship they have time for is the one between you and their credit card reader. Sounds like the same where you are, at least with this one.

The stakes are no different. They all respond to the same alignment and tweaking. They all have stylus guards. Koetsu are slightly different but not because of price but because they don't color code the pins. I guess they assume since its not entry level you must know what you're doing. Also they aren't threaded, and don't provide any hardware, so you need to visit a local shop and ask for a few nuts and bolts.  

That's what I did, and just like in my post felt no guilt whatsoever in taking up their time and getting free parts. They having done their best to rip me off even worse than your do-nothing dealer wanted to do you, only so many years ago five different contingents of arrogant twenty-something reps have since come and gone, me long since forgotten by them, their utter incompetence never forgotten by me. 

The thing about turntables, and all this stuff really, is once you really understand it well there's all kinds of little tells the clueless give without even knowing it. Just like there's all kinds of little tells the ones who really know their way around do. Takes one to know one as they say. Which is how I am quite sure the guy they use to set up their million dollar AT/dAgostino/Wilson monstrosities is mediocre at best. 

Oh and btw if you really are seriously looking at a $7k Koetsu I would first be seriously researching the Soundsmith strain gauge. For about the same money you will have a totally SOTA cartridge, plus SOTA phono stage, plus affordable user replaceable styli for life.

"Maybe some audiophiles do deserve to be ripped off."

Some people can afford not to care.

mmm....obviously, some wounds heal slowly...if at all...:(

Since I can afford to be charitable (it's not my $ or time spent), an observation on this sad tale...

Most b&m shops have migrated into selling 'systems', offering complete installations with decors designed to impress visually and hopefully with 'appropo acoustics' applied.  Selling a 7K$ cart is a easy thing to do on a slow day....

Mounting same properly?  A thumb-sized bit of 'audio jewelry' that's just as easy to screw up rather than get correct?  That, if done wrong, turns an easy sale into a nightmare of a pissed customer....

...especially if 'they' don't know how to do it anymore....right....the 1st go.

"Lets' turn Mr.Dalton over to the guy who set up Our stuff.  He (seems) to know what to do properly...."

I've been around sales folk most of my life.  The good ones can sell you underwear and convince you it's best worn backwards.  I'll assume they wear theirs correctly, but a sale is a sale.....and they know when to say NO.

If you don't feel comfy mounting your cart, you're left to the skills of the recommended party.

However...you are in the company of those who've 'been there, done that, and did it again until they got it Right'.

You're in 'check', not wanting to hear 'checkmate'.
Your move, good luck, J

Truth can be a bit....chilly....