I'd be happy to purchase a code reader (as they are not very expensive) in order to avoid jumping wires and ...watching blinkies.

Seems like someone out there made an aftermarket code reader, though my initial searches only brought up OBD1 "import" readers. To avoid wasting my money I wonder if anyone can cut through the red tape and tell me if this will in fact work for me, or direct me to the correct item.

here is an example of the reader I found:
http://www.tradervar.com/cgi-bin/sto...age=cp9025.htm

Also, this was a rather comprehensive guide to "blinkie watching", in case it's of use to anyone:
http://www.iequus.com/downloads/manu..._E_14JAN03.pdf