Trek, Specialized, or Kona??

I'm having buyer's regret after ordering the Trek Mamba, am thinking to go back to the Specialized store and try them out again. The problem is our local Specialized dealer has so few models to test drive. I am looking for a nice bike at around 1k or a little more~ I want hydraulic brakes, easy shifting gears, good fork and suspension etc. I tried my BF's mamba, also new, and the gears were just groaning and clicking gong up the hill and it put us off a little, though granted we haven't ridden bikes forever and it took us awhile to get used to the modern gear system.

I like the basic Myka for it's WSD (though of course I want more bells and whistles), because it felt good to me, a natural fit. It was a 26er and I'm looking for 29, so I am now looking at the 2012 Jett comp 29. It's way more than I originally wanted to spend, but what the heck, I can see myself blowing that extra money on stupid stuff, this is a real investment that will have big payoff. Also we are considering exchanging our new Mambas for the Cobia.

Any input ladies? Let's say my cut-off is $1300, but if I can get great for cheaper all the better.