Thanks for the reply!
For what it's worth I'm rooted, out of warranty, no insurance.
Seeing digitizers for about $20 shipped, a few more with some tools I'd need. A comparable phone around $75 on craigslist, etc.
From the videos I've watched replacing the digitizer is a roughly 30m job. There is a risk the device doesn't turn back on, of course.
Thanks for the advice, has anyone replaced the digitizer? It looks straightforward, but would like to hear some first hand experience