Speaking of telescopes, can any of you astro-nerds recommend a good one in the vicinity of <$2500?
Depends upon what you are looking for. Telescopes are based around aperature and focal length. I had a Meade 8" LX90 that was superb. You can pick those up for very resonable cost with all of the fixins. I would recommend getting one with autoguide (Meade has Autostar, Celestron has Nexstar). Avoid department store or hobby shop types (typically refractors).
Two basic types of telescopes are Refractor & Reflector. Refractor are better for astrophotography. Reflectors are better for wider field of view.
So, my recommendation is Meade 6-8" Reflectors (Schmidt-Cassegrain) with Autostar. Avoid GPS, it is nothing more than a gimmick.