ok dude, check it out. It will be really really tough to get a kit up and running for that price. Even an electric 1/10th scale. There are some good RTR's out there that you can take apart and put back together though! You're new to nitro so I think a good quality RTR would get you started on the right foot. I would reccomend the Losi 8ight ($525) or 8ight-T ($600) very nice RTR and right around your budget too. One other quality RTR is the team associated RC10GT2 RTR 1/10th nitro stadium truck (2wd) for around $279. I feel your pain, I'd like to build a kit as well but for a minimum of $800 just to get started makes no sense for me since I dont race. I did decide to change the grease for diff oil and make a few changes so I went ahead and took the whole thing apart and rebuilt it....like a kit.

Your only other option is to wait and save more money...