Thanks for your answers Strummin and MK!
So I found two pretty cheap Artist reissues. One is a Black 2004 artist AR200 with a Dan Armstrong Anico JB bridge pick-up, including a hardshell case that I might be able to pick up for around $200. If I were to get this guitar, I may take the paint off the top of the guitar and refinish it, likely with a dark stain. If not, I could settle with the black finish.
At a local guitar center I found a 1998 Artist AR250 with a bright flame top (yellow looking with an orange burst), but has a DiMarzio PAF Pro and DiMarzio ToneZone installed and Coil-tapped, and also a hard shell case for $299. In this case, I don't really care for the finish of the guitar but I could possibly sell the PAF Pro and ToneZone to pay for my Virtual PAF's, (Might be able to get $80-100 for them?), and the push/pull pots are already installed in the guitar. Call me crazy, but the flame top is what really turns me off about the guitar, but I'm certainly going for the BUDGET BUILD.
My grandfather has a massive woodshop where I could do all of the routing and finishing, so that is one benefit.
What would you guys go for in this situation?
Thanks