Oh boy, Chaissos, I hope you are wrong. At this point the car is going to sit until our next payday, but a $1200 cost would basically put us on ramen noodles for a few months. 
I also have a message in to a friend who knows cars far better than anyone else I know personally. Hopefully he may be able to give some good advice as well. I forgot to add above (since I’m sure someone will want to know), that yes, the check engine light was on and no, I can’t currently check the codes. I’m going to ask mechanic buddy as well if he has a portable scanner.