89 200q stranded in Ohio adventures (Ref: Clutch MC and AC)

[SOP8920@Siena.edu]

Hey everyone,
    A week ago my parents and brother went to Indiana to attend a wedding. They
took the 89 200q, and for those sharp eyed readers this was during the same
time that I was gal-a-banting around in the new A6. 
    On the way there my father noticed a coolant leak in one of the hoses.
Luckily he was at a K-mart and got some tape and patched it up. He took the car
to the dealer nearby and they put on a new hose. Charged him $50 for the labor!
When he told me this.. I told him that HE was the one who got hosed. 
    On the return trip (back to upstate NY), they pulled into a rest-stop off
of I-90. Leaving the rest area, my brother driving, the clutch pedal sunk to
the floor. No clutch. Luckily it was at a rest-stop. They called a tow-truck
(here in my father's tale I blurted out "WAIT!... you used a flat-bed
right????" and he did so I breathed a sigh of relief). To make short of this
tale, they spent a day rambling around Cedar point hoping that the car would be
fixed promptly. No such luck, the shop they took it to diagnosed the problem as
a shot Clutch Master Cylinder. They rented a cheesy Lumina and drove home. 
    I get home this Friday, for the weekend, and find my father absolutely
fuming because the shop (one week later) hadn't gotten the part yet. I get him
Carlsen's phone number and a quickie phone call to Linda and the part is on
route. It arrived on Monday and off I went. BTW Kudos to Linda, the part was
much much less expensive through her and she had the brains to send the part
COD when for some reason or another the Credit card wouldn't run through. 
    Get to the shop on Tuesday.. 7 hour drive.. and hand them the master
cylinder. They send out, what seemed to be, the most junior mechanic to handle
the job. I whip out a blanket and a book, in good view of the car, and watch
him work. In hindsight, after watching their clumsy repair, I could have done
it in less time myself. It took the guy about two hours to figure out that he
had to remove the lower cubby dash panel to get free excess to the little
u-shaped thingee where the pin goes in. Sorry for the bad terminology.
    Anyway... they had a hard time bleeding the clutch. Gravity feed didn't do
much and only after he got a vacuum line on the bleed valve did we get any
pressure to the clutch. Reading the latest posts (all 350+ of em) I saw a
reference to the correct procedure which I'll get to in a sec.
    About 130miles out of Fremont Ohio (where the car died) I pulled into a
rest-area. Clutch pedal sinks to the floor. I checked the reservoir.. topped it
off and gave the pedal a few pumps and pressure returns albeit somewhat softly. 
A phone call to the shop, and the owner says that it was probably just a pocket
of air left over from the bleeding job. 
    So.. I drove the rest of the way home.. to Albany that is. 9 hours or so. 
Here are my questions:

(1) it seems that my father failed to use Pentosin from around 50K to 120K
miles. Examination of the old MC showed a  bunch of crud and gummy s*%t. Hmmm..
he's using pentosin now (in fact the shop used my can of it!). Recently he
needed new brake calipers and it cost him $$$$. So.. to halt the damage, I
think the car could use a full flush of the brake fluid and replacement with
the green gold stuff. This would hopefully prevent any future damage to the
lines and fittings to the Brake Master Cylinder and slave, Clutch MC and slave,
and brake calipers. Make sense to you guys? 

(2) I noticed that upon heavy brake application, the brake light flashes on and
the pedal kind of feels squishy. Is this "bomb" that some referred to the same
as the brake MC? I haven't done Eric's pressure test yet (10-15 pumps right?)
but will as soon as I get out to the car. 

(3) the AC system. Compresser comes on but no blower. Three weeks ago it was
working intermittantly but now it's just sitting there. Very frustrating when
it's raining outside, you are sweating inside the car, and placing a hand upon
the vent you can feel the good cold air inside! I checked the blower fuse but
it was fine. Some kind of funky relay?

CONC: What do I attempt myself and what kind of time would these repairs take?
My mechanic is excellent here in Albany (remember the $100 labor to replace the
CV boot AND the oil pressure line!). I don't have access to many tools, and
definately don't have access to a pressure hose to bleed the brakes properly. 
If the AC system is just a electronic relay, I think I can handle it. Remember,
I don't even have a garage.. just a parking lot, some tools, a swiss army
knife, and my wits. 

CONC to the CONC: Thanks again guys. The people on this list, and their jealous
spouses (better duck now), have been *extremely* helpful. I have a new
appreciation for Audis and hope to make the 200q last as long as possible. 
I was actually, literally, talking to the car on the ride home.....

"Baby you know I love you. Who waxes and washes you? Who keeps you clean
inside? Who gets the maintainance done and repairs? So.. love me back and don't
give me any trouble especially since I don't have a AAA card." said in a
soothing "hush little baby don't you cry" voice.

Sorry this was so long guys.. but I've been deprived of the list for 5 days.

                            -Osman
                             85 MR2 (mine but dad's driving it)
                             89 200q (dad's but I'm driving it now)
                             91 Golf (kind of shared with bro.)
                             96 A6 (mom's but she's still too intimidated to 
                                    drive it)