If I were in your shoes, I'd be concerned more about the condition of the body than if it runs well. If you can find something (one of your finds, for instance - the HFs are awesome, I don't think they ever came in automatic though
) that can drive you home at least, then you should be golden if you're not afraid of an engine swap. Compatible parts are probably much easier to find than actual full bodies with clean titles. Remember: If by off chance you land yourself a lemon with a shot engine, you can always do a VX swap - it's
easy!
This may be too extreme for you, but if an engine swap is not out of the question for you, try to find the cheapest crx you can find, see how long you can get out of the stock engine if you're worried about that, then scope out a swap candidate - if you're lucky you can get a cheap, non-riced crx for 500-1000, then pay another ~$520 for a new engine, which leaves you with about the same net price you're looking for + a bit of labor time. YMMV, so it depends on how much work you're willing to do or if you just need something pretty quickly that just works.
All the best,
Will