yeah, I get what your saying,
82 GT. I know it's frustrating.
But the belt and water pump isn't all that bad (I know you're probably just tired of fooling with it though). After you do it and add the smog pump (which you can just remove after you get the emissions inspection) it'll probably seem like not all that bad. I waited to change my rear main seal in the '79 for about 4 months and it just SAT there in my yard in the mean time. I finally got my lazy behind out there under it and finished it up and that SAME STINKING WEEKEND, the release bearing died on the '92 GT. Transmission isn't really something I like messing with (I've pulled a heavy handful of them over the years), now if I had a lift or a
decent floor jack (both of which I don't have-- so I gotta jack up the car in stages...
), maybe, but still don't like fooling around under there. And here I had to pull the '92's tranny now. But after doing both in the same week period, it wasn't all that bad after it was all done, looking back. If I have to do it again, I'll have a better attitude about it-- and it GOT DONE.
Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do until you can do better. If that means keeping the '82, then do it. If it means selling it, then with regret, do it (all depends on how much you are attached to THAT car). But once again, I still think there's gotta be some way around the bureacratic bull (yes, even legally) if you dig deep enough, but hey , I could be wrong.
Hope it works out for you, man.