Heard good things about the Shimano compre and crucial and in my price range ($150 max) but they do not offer 2 piece rods in the size and power I want. Can anyone recommend a few others that I could look into that are similar in price/quality? Is quality compromised in 2 piece rods, it seems most baitcasting rods are all one piece and I assume there must be a reason for it, thanks for all of your help.

I have been eyeing this rod for a while, but I when it comes down to it, I really don't "need" any thing new.

http://www.***.com/Damiki_Angel_EX_Casting_Rods_2_Piece/descpage-DEXC.html

It is one awesome looking series of rods. The only you'd need to do is call TW and ask if either is a MH. JDM looks at a USA price is going to be tough to beat. Oops! I just realized that it's not 7'.

There is also cabela's mag touch series about about $100.00 I can vouch for this rod as a very good deal. I have the 2-piece medium power rod, and I am very pleased with it. It has caught, LMB, SMB, Rainbow Trout, and even Pink Salmon. Refer to model #MGTC703-2 I have the MGTC702-2. It probably stands for 7' length. 3=MH power, and the -2 probably means 2-piece

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Fishing-Rods/Casting-Rods|/pc/104793480/c/104764680/sc/104823180/Cabelas-MagTouch174-Casting-Rods/703551.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ffishing-fishing-rods-casting-rods%2F_%2FN-1102351%2FNo-48%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104823180%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104793480%253Bcat104764680%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNP&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104793480%3Bcat104764680%3Bcat104823180

I realize both are less than your Max budget, but I have searched down this road myself and the options as you probably know are pretty slim.

Here's another Cabelas option. I have the 2pc 7' H and like it a lot. These usually go on sale every year for around $99.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-XML-Casting-Rods/1158307.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dxml%26x%3D-332%26y%3D-12%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=xml&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products