I'd say that I'd agree with the 8wt scenerio. It's about the best all around rod. It's a bit light for big kings, but you can get by with it.

Hmmmmm, rods in the $100 range. I'd definitely say you're gonna have to look at either Lami's or St Croix's. But, if you shelled out about $100 more you can get a DS Sage. They run about $210 and are excellent rods. You can't go wrong. I'll say that the Lami's at the 8/9wt range are a bit stiff, if you like a heavy action when you're throwing flies. When it comes to low cost reels you can't go wrong with scientific anglers. You can pu a system 2L 7/8 for about $120. But hey, you know I've used the bigger pfluegers for years and haven't had a problem with them. They aren't the nicest reels, but you can't go wrong at $30. But step up to the SA if you can. If you look long enough, you can pick them up for about $80 if you look hard enough. They're great reels.

Good luck, if you look hard enough you can even find sages and others fairly cheap if you don't mind used.