Thank-you for all the wonderful replies. I love that the advice from uke players (as opposed to many guitarists) is thoughtful and practical in nature. Much more 'you should think about this' then 'I have this so you must get this too'. For those living in Ontario, besides the store suggested by Jim, I found another small, uke exclusive store, HaliUkes, which gave me a few more options. The is also a Canadian maker Honolua, who ships anywhere in North America free of charge. I didn't go with them, but I found a store owner who vouched for them as a legit company offering quality ukes at very reasonable prices...
Anyway, back to HaliUkes, they are the only Canadian dealer for Flight ukuleles. Michael is fantastic to deal with. I ended up going off list and getting a Flight Diana TE. It sounds fantastic and has all the features on my check list. I fell in love the moment I saw the images of it. I may be reading between the lines of the advice in this thread a little too much, but part of it was not to drive yourself crazy and go with the one that appeals to you. The one I picked is gorgeous and sounds great, so I'm happy. Thank-you to everyone who took the time to respond.