got it done!
attached are some pics.

The guy did a ****-poor job bending the pipes. He constricted it at one point so much, the pipe might as well be 2''. but at least his welds are solid. 240$ labor- Oh well, at least i can sell the cats later...
Reattaching the tips didn't work out so well. The tips are meant for 2'' pipes, outlet on the muffler is 2.5''. Went w/out tips, think it looks fine.

Here is a link to video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnV_EJgUH-E