Is there a manual tranny that will work with this car? Or is it doomed with the auto forever more?

It'* theoretically possible, but you'll need to do a lot of fab work. Doing a search will reveal tons of topics about this

got a couple grand to spend, some good friend who are good at welding and fabricating, then it could be done.

Yep try '5 speed', '6 speed', 'manual trans', 'getrag' in this section.

Would be looking at the 5 speed meant for the 2.8L Beretta, 5 speed for the 3.4L DOHC W-body, or recently, the 6 speed for the 3900 G6 GT. They will bolt up. You would have to install the shifter and linkages, mounts, and custom driveshafts. I've been seriously thinking about it for my Reatta (the 6).

I'd suggest searching the forum. This has been discussed many times and a few times even recently. That would bring you up to speed with the ideas to date and maybe help you push further with new ideas or make the current ones come true.