Follow up: based on recommendations found here I bought a "Lincoln" brand grease gun and suction gun online at "SJ's discount tools" they arrived last night and I almost want to go change my transmission oil now. At least the suction gun seems real nice, actually sucks throughout the whole range of plunger travel. Haven't tried the grease gun yet because I don't have any grease handy, but the one thing I noticed is that when you pull the rod out and c*ck it to the side, it locks securely (anyone that's ever had one let go while reloading a grease gun will appreciate the goodness of that feature)
Thanks for the pointers, guys, and it is a sad commentary when I'm all excited because the tools I just bought appear to work as intended :(
nate