well, i went out and bought 2 cans of refrigerant and a charging kit (it even came with a gauge :thumbup: ).

i attached the hose w/ the gauge, turned the car on (it was already at operating temp) and put the a/c on max (4), with the coldest setting. checked the gauge, system was empty, as suspected. i went ahead and removed the gauge, attached the nozzle to the can, attached that to the hose, pierced the can and opened her up. let that sit forever, til it emptied out, removed it, installed the gauge, checked the system. there was still room for more refrigerant, so i went ahead and added the 2nd can. finished that all up, checked it out, gauge read that i was good.

just came back from a drive, and all i have to say is brrrrrr.. and it only cost me $40.