Captain's log, final entry.
So I ended up going to Interstate battery and they checked it. They said that the voltage was ok, but since I had driven 20 min to get there, that wasn't a surprise. When he checked the individual cells, he found that one was dead and another was dying. He said sure, you could keep driving it every few days and it would last longer, but it was basically on its way out.
I asked what it would cost to replace. This was a 75 month batt and he noted that it was mfred in Oct 2010. So @ 5 years, he calculated the pro rata. Bottom line: installed, new battery (same model etc.) $113.
Hope that's the end of that. Thanks to all who posted.
