hipchip, the fun is in the hunting. go pester the LBS. gives them something useful to do. you get the pleasure of being fussed over. you also get to see them in action.
as for the fit routine. you won't want to just ride a bike without it. get it fitted otherwise you may have a good bike but not fitted and a bad experience in test riding it and loose out on that opportunity and regret it later when you find out that it was poorly fitted. since you are new to this there is all the world of difference between properly setup bike and not. someone pointed out this is not an automobile. it really is more personal than that.
besides once you do purchase the bike you will know whether the LBS will be truly helpful or not after the sale. you are in a sense 'test riding' the service at the shop as well as 'test riding' a bike. Heard it said here and elsewhere service makes the deal.
happy hunting. don't give up too fast.