Yeah, a backyard mechanic can do that for ya much cheaper. However, realize that just about everybody posting on this thread can probably atomize their car and not break a sweat, so to us paying $1000 for something that'll cost us a saturday and a few cans of beer is just offensive. Fact is, replacing the piston rings is a labor intensive job, and you're gonna pay for it one way or another. Try to find a backyard mechanic, if you can't, I'm going to suggest that if the leak down test doesn't point to some other problem, buy a lightly used engine (but do a leak-down on the new engine first!).
good luck