I ended checking out some used gear. It was a mess, some of the people on Craigslist were total flakes and just really didn't want to sell their gear, and others had some gear in poor shape and wanted a premium. So I just bit the bullet, and bought new.
I decided on Scubapro Knighthawk, which fit me very well. I got the Scubapro MK25/S600 setup, with a nice Scubapro Mako SPG with FS-2 compass.
So I have spent a real chunk of change "getting started", and other than my BCD/regulator, most of my stuff is probably just average. But its new, and so likely safe, and I am glad I don't have to worry about that. i am looking forward to getting some experience, and hopefully one day diving with a metal detector. In the meantime I plan to do some snorkeling with a detector. I still don't own a dedicated water machine, but can use my AT Pro for some light duty work when snorkeling.
Got my final Open Water dive Sunday, its a boat dive (2 of them). Really looking forward to that. I want to use my new gear instead of using the shops rental gear. I want to do that so I can get comfortable with it since its what I will be diving with, and this way if I do run into any learning problems I am there in class with the dive masters/instructors. i did not buy my gear from the same dive shop i am learning from, just because they don't happen to be a scuba pro dealer and I ended up really liking the Scubapro stuff. I hope they don't mind me using my gear, its brand new, so all checked out. Not sure if that overcomplicates things for them……..I did spend about $700 at their shop (basically buying just about everything but my BCD/Reg/SPG).
Can't wait to find some dive buddies and get some dives in, so far its been an awesome experience.