Update;
Had a friend come out and diagnose it today.. He said faulty check valve, so I'm going to have someone come out and fix it this week... Most certainly isn't anything I'm interested in dealing with!
He explained it to me, but I still don't really understand what the problem entails. The pump is in the basement of the house, the septic tank is outside (solids) and the town has a sewer system that takes liquids.
He said that basically, the pump finishes its job - and then the rest of the street's water basically fills up our system, so our pump is basically pumping for the whole street... But I don't get how that works... :S
My friend initially suggested that I unhook the pump myself and take it in, but as long as there's no pump - there's no toilet flushing, no showers, no laundry, etc... so I figure if I have someone come out with the necessary parts, they can fix it here, and it'll be done faster.
My main concern here is pump failure, or WORSE - sewage backup into my newly finished and furnished basement. I asked whether backup was a risk - but he never really did clear that up. Does anyone know if it is?
R.P.