Guys, I'm going to say it again.
1. I have personally confirmed from multiple calls to D* that my contract continues to roll even during a suspension. There is alot of misinformaiton on this board about this point, but I know that's how it works.
2. Family pack works just fine with ST. I had it the entire 2006-2007 season with no issues. Family pack doesn't have ESPN or very much good stuff, but I ended up getting ESPN1/2-HD, etc just by purchasing the HD add-on.
3. The medical thing is way out of left-field. Last year, I called a rep and she suspended me for 6 months, no questions asked. This year, I just called in and told the auto prompt I wanted to "suspend my account." They asked me to confirm. Then they asked me to enter the month and day I wanted to reactivate. I entered 8/20 and they asked to confirm. I said yes. Then I hung up. Easy as pie.
I am a Comcast sub, but I gotta have my ST. This is year TWO of me pulling off this trick. I know my contract days are about to expire, and I've suspended twice. Two year ago, I was skeptical about this working ...but it has and it's been great.
Believe who and what you want. But I'm telling you this is real and it works.
GO PACK!