oregonmon, I have the exact same symptoms that you have, but I have a couple more symptoms. Along with not being able to put it into gear easily or at all, I smell burning rubber/clutch when driving it. I also have a vibration when driving it.
I think the cable and master/slave cylinders look good from the outside, so next step is to have the mechanic drop the motor and take the clutch apart. I had 2 different mechanics look at it and diagnose that they believe 100% it's the "exploding" rubber-centered clutch that came apart on me.
My car is a 3.2, and my quoted cost is over $1500 for parts & labor, probably closer to $2000 with the updated fork that I will need. So consider $1000 not too bad at all
