Thanks for the confidence boost on the bike. I do think it will be a huge upgrade for me. I have put over 100 miles on this old 820 and it seems pretty great except my toe sometimes touches the front tire in a hard turn. I just didn't know enough to know how it fit when I bought it.
Doing review research it seems like a lot of posters will trash a bike if it doesn't have the very best shock, rims, tires or whatever. I heard some say that they had about destroyed their Marlin 5's in a short time. The way I look at it is that I won't be trying to fly on this bike so won't have to worry about the landing gear so much. It should last me forever.
I think it will be a real blessing for me. I actually bought it lower than the blue book says and it was the only decent bike I have found at my price range in a month of obsessively reviewing facebook marketplace. I would love to have something in the $2000 range but I honestly just don't think it's necessary for my style of riding.