Car died on me today- any thoughts on my issues?

That's a well-known Gen 2 problem with lots of PriusChat threads about it. The dealer won't want to fix it except by changing the combination meter at some insanely expensive price. Outside the dealer, it's fixed by replacing a bad capacitor that's less than a dollar to buy. The hardest part is the tedious disassembly to get to it.

 

This sounds like the current underlying issue, you have a failing "combination meter", which is dragging down the 12v when you leave the vehicle 'on'. Unfortunately, the dealership doesn't appear to know that the vehicle may work fine for awhile (months/years), but at some point the vehicle will no longer start until the combination meter is fixed or replaced, and this may leave you stranded at the wrong time/place.

You can DIY fix the failing surface mount capacitors on the combination meter circuit board, or order a replacement combination meter from Matt ( @Texas Hybrid Batteries ) for $150 and install yourself. : Prius Speedometer Replacement

Which rural metroplexs are closest to you, as there may be another member who can assist.

 

Hi Mel, There are a lot of very knowledgeable and smart people here on PriusChat. If you ask around you might be able to find a Prius expert who is not too far away. Coming out to do a "project" in a rural area in a rural state could have some interest for one of these people. You never know until you ask. For someone who has the expertise, none of what you are describing - including a possibly bad big battery - is insurmountable. And a number of people are quite good at "revitalizing" priuses with these issues, so your car is not worthless by any means. Alternatively you can become one of these experts yourself. It will take a while, and of course you'll need alternative transport while you do it. Perhaps you can find/buy a drive-able car from one of your neighbors? Sometimes "rural" people can be far more helpful with things like this than city dwellers. My cars are also not always simple to turn off, but I've always managed to do it. If you do get your prius running let me know and I'll tell you how to turn it off. And I'm happy to tell you about any other steps I've taken. But first you need to get your transport needs organized.