1. Are you looking at getting the professional ~$750 versions of these programs? Or were you looking at the sub-$100 consumer versions?
The professional version--hey, I don't mess around! 
2. Are you still interested in
Sony Vegas, or does
Adobe Premiere sound like a more tempting product?
I actually thought about Premiere and I'm certainly accustomed to working with Adobe products. I'm willing to go with either but Vegas was a little cheaper and that was the reason I was leaning in that direction. By my troth, it's the Scotsman in me.
3. Are you a student or educational employee, or were you planning to have a student or educational employee buy a copy for you, using a student discount?
No to this one I'm afraid. I guess I could troll a few college campuses and make some friends for purely mercenary reasons! 
4. Did you have any specific store in mind? Were you looking to buy download versions, or would you be willing to wait several days for a boxes version bought online?
I'll probably go with download versions. I have so many boxes cluttering the office as it is.