I'm in Houston, TX. I talked with a recommended transmission shop and they said they don't see too many LX's but they can usual idenify the problem and fix it rather than just replace the entire unit and do it for a lot less. They said they have done quite a few RX trannies though.
I am thinking of going this way. They will tow it and diagnose it for free to try and get the business. Worst case is I end up paying another $125 to get it back to the dealer if it doesn't sound like a decent deal. What a pain...but I shouldn't complain too much as this is an unusual problem outside of the 2000 model years.
With gas prices where they are at I am also tempted to get a used RX
(cringe) to drive daily and maybe a 99 or so landcruiser to have fun with.
Has anyone ever had a tranny overhaul instead of getting a reman from the dealer?