new to me turntable and preamp

The NAD would be fine. The squirrel sound is from the arm/cartridge and poor speed stability, resonance and feedback from poor compliance. Strangle that squirrel and bury it. Almost anything you do mentioned by anyone here, or from one of the reputable sites (Music Direct, Acousticsounds, Audioadvisor) will be leaps and bounds from what you have. Hold on tight and enjoy the ride.

...and bury the Radioshack with the squirrel.

thanks a bunch to all the advice. think i'm gonna pick up this NAD, any suggestions on reasonably priced pre amps? that seems to be a whole new world in and of itself.

Why not use the Yamaha as a pre and just get a descent phono stage like Bellari. It would be the most economical way to get your analog front end up and running. A pre amp would duplicate a lot of things the Yamaha does. In time you could upgrade the receiver to separate power amp and pre amp. Adding a Bellari and the Nad table along with your Ortofon cart could give you a surprisingly nice sound if, as others have said, you take the time to level and isolate your table along with dialing in the cart. Save a few bucks for the most important item.....the music! Good luck and most of all enjoy the wonderful world of vinyl.

first i'd just like to say how nice it is for you all to offer all this advice to us beginners. some circles just seem to what to keep all the info for those in the know so they can look down on all the rest. thanks.

so...
once i get the new table, i just need a phono stage, and then from there i would just run that into the reciever? since the reciever has no phono input, i have been running my current table through the v-aux input jack. is there any difference in the jacks on the back?
also, you guys think my existing ortofon cart will be a better choice than the stock on the NAD?