I'm pretty sure that the old crt tv's have a longer livetime than the new flat tv's.
Well... I am back in business! I searched the area and got the best TV I could find used at a pawnshop at the next town over. It is still the old CLT style TV... but I was able to upgrade on size a little... went from a 20in to a 24in... but that was a big enough difference that it didn't fit inside my entertainment center. I had to rearrange it and put the TV on top of the entertainment center instead of inside.