I apologize if this kind of issue was discussed somewhere else in the past, but I tried searching and couldn't find anything that helps.

So, in my 2008 GP 3L8 that is about 8 years old now with 125K miles, I was driving last night and everything was going well until I decided to stop for a smoke while the engine was running. It usually rarely reaches (or exceeds a tiny little bit) 1/2 the engine temperature gauge especially with the AC on, but looking through the window, I noticed that it was persistently a little bit over 1/2. I thought I'd drive a little fast after my stop so the wind blows the radiator and it should go back to normal. Drove for a couple of miles and the temp never came down, I stopped, and it started crawling up slowly and when it was in the middle between 1/2 and 3/4, I knew that something was wrong, So, I shut off the engine, opened the hood and saw the side of the water pump looking like a fountain.

I towed it to a garage who accepted my new napa water pump and accessory belt that I bought on my way. They found that a very small part of the water pump gasket had blown, so they replaced both. The car starts nicely (which, I hope, means no major engine damage) but the guy said that it still leaks excessively from behind and under the new water pump. He tried a mirror and replaced the lower hose with no change. It's a franchise shop that was open on a Sat morning that could get me in and take my parts with decent prices but they are limited in what they can do. He wasn't sure if the head gasket was blown (8-10 hours labor which = about $1000) or if the block was cracked or if it is something as minor as a "freeze plug" that is causing it and suggested that I take it to a more advanced garage that can open the head or disassemble more stuff to get a final answer.

We discussed major engine repairs as compared to getting a junk yard engine or getting a re-manufactured engine from JASPER with a 100k miles warranty (especially since I'm trying to keep this GP forever and since I put a remanufactured tranny a year ago for $3k) as a worst case scenario.

I need some advice and if there is a way to finance such a major repair, so that I can do the best option that is the most expensive one which makes more sense and price estimates.
I just moved this month and had a couple of financial inconveniences at the same time in addition to having to go tomorrow to rent a car to be able to go to work every day, so my budget is pretty tight.

Any advice/opinions/analyses are very much appreciated