I'll chime in on this as well.
If you absolutely want to get the electronic equipment you can check out Forestry Suppliers. I have their catalog here in front of me and they sell a meter that is less expensive then the one John showed. Look for YSI Professional Series. That being said, even these electronic kits need to be constantly calibrated, so you're still going to be playing with chemicals and to top it off, if you don't calibrate your results can be so astronomically wrong that they send you in the wrong direction. You could also look at photometers and colorimeters, but both of those require chemical reagents.
In summary, electronic equipment is a huge and very expensive undertaking. Last year I went to Costa Rica and all of the water studies we did (about 20 locales, each multiple times) were done with two probes, temperature and dissolved oxygen. Everything else was done with strips or test kits. In addition to all that I use test strips quite often. I use them at work in the kitchen to test water quality and I use them at home to test aquariums, and my father, who bred fish for some 15 years, always used test strips, successfully.
That being said, it is ultimately up to you. It does seem like you are paying a lot to test your water. I say go with the test kits, sure you have to play with chemicals, but most of them aren't dangerous and it will save you money. Most scientists use test kits anyway. I bet the companies that are charging you so much are using them as well.
Best of Luck,
Alex