Stupid Brake Cable

A few months ago, I went to adjust the tension on my e-brake cable only to find that it's complete rusted out. Despite all the chemicals I sprayed on the adjuster, it's rusted together and since it's got rubber pieces, the smoke wrench is out. So I went to Advance Auto Parts and tried to buy a replacement. They didn't have the part for my '00 GP so they sold me a part for a '99. About 2 months later I finally go around to replacing the cable only to find that the '99 part had a different mount. So, I got out the metal tools and fabricated a mount clip. No big deal, just took and extra 20minutes. I got everything mounted and went to connect the other end.... grrrr. Apparently, the 2000 had a different nut and, of course, this one won't work. I spent the next 20 minutes undoing all the work I had done. To top it off, it's been more than 45 days so I can't return the part. I guess I'm out $18. *sigh*