i thought dave thomas invented wendy's???
i've been talking to this guy chad at red barn cycles in montana. he also got some good reviews on mtbr. there is another guy as well, who's name escapes me, but those mtbr guys say he's the end-all be-all of wheel building.
did you call cycle works at all? i've heard that john is a good wheel builder.
edit: i just checked his spec sheet...and his prices seem WAY high compared to what i got from red barn. like a couple hundred. the quote that i was given for the set up below was $375 shipped:
dt swiss 5.1d rims
hope xc hubs
dt comp spokes
since i'm probably going to go with hope bulb hubs that will bump the price up $85 but for me it's probably worth it.