Thanks for the help !
I just wanted to send out a post thanking all the folks that helped guide me to a new bike. I tend to over research and take a long time to pull the trigger, and this site was of great help. I purchased a 06 Gary Fisher Marlin for $419. I had to drive for an hour to find a not quite local bike shop, but they were helpfull with setting up a few bikes for me to try. I felt little difference in the Specialized Rockhopper vs the GF, other than the brakes on the Specialized seemed to bite harder. Given the GF had possibly better hardware and was $100 less...it was an easy call to make. Even if the GF only came in purple ! ( Special close out buy thing. Probably the worst selling color, I guess. )