Shannon, i thought of another alternative to your price range issue- have you considered used? it'd take a lot of work to find one, or rather 2, but you might be able to get a better bike within your price range. its hard to do though. but for the money, you could make sure the frame is sound- and if you decided you really like it, you could upgrade the parts over time (as i'm sure they will wear out).
if you want to look into it, check out
Craig's List -be sure to select Austin as the city, as san antonio isn't an option. they have all sorts of bikes on there usually. if you were going to go the used route, it would be helpful to have a friend who knows a lot about bikes to help guide you away from potential lemons.
I bought my first mountain bike used from a friend - who became my roomate- and I eventually married- I still have him and the bike
so while you might be hesitant to buy a used mtn bike, its not necessarily a bad idea.