Yes, Denise, the cranks I've had (& switched & back again) were always Shimano. Just now I called another few bike shops (again) & the folks didn't want to order anything for me unless I paid for them the whole amount upfront (this whole XTR thing being the 167.5mm only available) & I'm not even sure they would fit my BB on this old GT mtn model ... Maybe I'm speaking a different language or something... Vancouver seemed so much more helpful!
Lot's of dough for a "potential" help on the knee thing ... Guess I gotta start a fund for it.

Thanks again to everyone for being so quick to answer this POLL!