Trevor - you tell us that you have a $2-$4k budget and you get suggestions up in the $6.5k bracket.
$2k-$4k is not much to play with in these circles, but I think that the G11 would likely fit your bill straight up - and at around $3.5-$3.7k for the basic mount and stepper drive electronics it suits your dollarific requirements. It's way under the $5.7k wanted for the Gemini version - and you can always fit it with shaft encoders and an Argo Navis later on for around another $900.
The other alternative (from overseas) is a Takahashi EM200 for around the $4.5k mark - a little more than you want to spend and which has slightly less load capacity than the G11 but is beautifully built. Its PE performance is legendary and guided will never leave you wanting. The only thing is that you have to furnish your own tripod.
G11 astrophotographic capacity is probably around the 18kg mark (75% of advertised rated capacity of 25kg). The EM200's safe capacity is probably around the 14kg mark.