Some local "auto repair shops" know a little about transmissions, and some even know to farm out jobs they can't really handle. In my experience the yokels Jamie has been talking to probably aren't lying; they just don't know how to interpret reality properly or how to communicate what they see. The "top half of the transmission sheared off" could be a dowel pin sheared off, allowing the shift tower to walk around a bit. A rebuild kit is not going to address this sort of problem. Going way out on a limb here, the fix could be cheap, but it will no doubt involve drilling out dowel pin holes oversize and installing heli-coils, the sort of thing that takes brains, which are in sort supply in many areas of rural America. See 99% of the topics in this news group if you don't believe me on this.
Cheers,
Earle