I also don't think that any of those bike stores did a good job. Especially the third one with respect to fitting you on the bike. Oh, and I would never buy a bike from a place that would not let me take it out on a 10-15 minute ride with some up and down hill sections. Never.
If I were you, I would go to some other bike stores, maybe re-visit the second one and MAKE them let you try some road bikes out before I made my decision. I don't understand the issue with them not letting you try road bikes, though. You can always jack the stem up higher, and road bars give you more positions for your hands.
Do they have a store in your area that sells touring or cyclocross type bikes? Lots of cyclocross bikes don't have a place to attach a rear rack, so be careful there if you want to haul stuff on the bike.
I would ride more than a few, before I made up my mind. I rode a minimum of 4-5 models from each of 5 different stores, before I bought my road bike last spring. Getting a bike that feels and fits right was well worth the effort. So was making sure that I got the bike from a decent bike shop that stands behind their equipment, and has a good repair department.
Good luck.