Hi Carbo,
I have been following your case pretty closely - I am going to be renewing my PR soon - My case is a little different than yours though.
I work in Detroit but live in Windsor ( I have more than 750 days in Canada already) ....
Couple of Quick questions -
1.) What were you asked to submit in the RQ ( Health Records , Exits and Entries ??)
2.) What were you asked in the land crossing when you traveled with an expired PR card ( Did you need to show anything other than the COPR , like renewal application fee, status ) ? Specifically what questions..?
At least one silver lining ,is that the Windsor and London office usually are quick (from what i have heard) and it usually takes about 6 months for a Citizenship application .. way much faster than other offices.. but not sure on the PR renewal ..