Ok, I just bought a slightly used Gary Fisher Piranha.

I love the thing to death but the fork is annoying me.. The lockout doesn't work, I've heard it is because it needs oil. But the rebound control knob on the bottom of the fork had oil all over it and it doesn't stay in very well. So i took it out and put some tape over the hole so no dirt would get in.

This is all fine and dandy but i don't want to use it too much without oil in there, will it wear out? And not having lockout sucks. Just the general idea that something isn't functioning perfectly is bugging me! lol

So I'm looking into buying a better fork! the current is a RockShox Tora, P0S.

I don't want to spend more than i did on the bike for shocks, so if not good, cheap, but new shocks, what is a quality brand i should search for used?
Fox seems to be pretty nice, but their new forks are mostly over $600.

So far I've found a few used Fox shox and a NEW Manitou splice 100-130mm fork.
The manitou is under $200 and I'm pretty much ready to buy it, but i know nothing of the brand or the make. It sure does look cool though .
Should i go for it? will it be a step up from the junk RockShox?

I know i threw allot of questions in there, feel free to answer one, or some

Thanks for your time,

-Eric

If you look up reviews of the Splice, it doesn't look much of an improvement. Used shocks can be a crapshoot. People often sell things when they don't work properly anymore. Nor should you invest wads of cash into a $600 MSRP bike.
Problems like you're describing are often fixable. I would see if that's possible before trying spend my way out of this minor problem. Take it to a shop and ask.

I have taken it to a shop, they can fix it and everything.
But i want better shocks in general, so I'm wondering what brands make quality forks that i should look for.

You'd be much better off asking about suspension forks in the Mountain Biking sub-forum!

Ah ok, sorry. I'm pretty new here and there are so many dang sections

I'd also ask if my type of riding merited the use of suspension forks. Unless you are screaming down high hills in the hills (Ohio?) you might find steel forks could take care of you.

That's true.
I don't know much about solid forks though, wouldn't that put more pressure on the bike on hard landings?

Well, not exactly the bike for doing big drops anyway.