BikeBrian, not to confuse the issue even more, but have you looked at the Atlantis? I test rode one recently while looking for a touring bike. While the Atlantis is built for touring it seemed to me like it was ready to run. I bought a Waterford instead, but thought the Atlantis would have been a good choice, and at under $1,000 it seems like it's in your range. There's a decent write-up at http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/atlantis.html
(where he describes it as "all-purpose, all-surface, all-season, all-weather bicycle frame" - quite a bike, huh? ). There's also some decent info there on the Gunnar that Rich Clark mentions.

I also got a good test ride in on the Carpe Diem that Rich rides, and I thought it also would have been an excelent choice for my touring, and it was light and fast enough for most everything but true racing. Of course, the price is much higher than the Atlantis, but Ti does give a sweet ride...

Good luck!