I blame Midsummer for me missing this thread completely until now. I'm a big fan of D&D, especially 3.5 edition, and I DM 3.5 self-made campaigns with my friends as players every once in a while. (we are currently in the midst of one such campaign, currently at 5th level)
Sadly, I do not have the time to join any of these games here at present, but I shall be more than glad to offer answers to any questions you might have. Let it, however, be put on record that I don't have a clue when it comes to anything 4th edition related.
If you are looking for a quick rules reference, the D20srd has all the basic rules and then some more.
www.d20srd.org (Edit: Ah, should read the OP first, link to the SRD is already there.
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5,400 gp,
according to standard 3.5 rules a character can spend a maximum of 1/3 of that gold on a single item, which in this case is 1,800 gp as the max prise of any single piece of equipment/magic item.
Strangely the D20srd does not contain this vital piece of info.