Well, I finally recieved the Preamp after 15 days.
I got Ebay and Paypal involved and wrote the guy a direct email. (after several emails and phone calls that went unreturned.) After he was contacted by Ebay/paypal he sent me an email stating he had the week from hell. His PC blew up so he couldn't return emails. He lost his cell phone so he couldn't return phone calls. He got locked out of his studio due to a rent dispute so he couldn't ship the preamp. And to add insult to injury, he said the city towed his car.
Hmmmmmm...........
To which story I replied with this email:
Damn Dude -
That's quite the shit sandwich. You just didn't take a bite, you ate the whole thing and came back for seconds. If that was your week, I'd stay home for the rest of the month to make sure no one eats your dog or Dahlmers your family.
He sent the preamp the next day and all is good!
Sometimes people are just way too slow. If all that truly happened to the guy, there's no way to go but up! Just wanted to give a heads up to my situation. Take care, and thanks for the help and advice! DM