PoorLurker dcpatters, thanks both for the replies.
I think I have moved to the new bike. It's just too complicated to DIY without knowing how it will turn out in terms of rideability where I can test new ones.
I ride XC and for downhill more likely Burnaby Mountain or milder North Shore stuff than the extreme North Shore or Whistler stuff. I was pretty into it at one point (weekly or more) but in the past few years have been riding a lot of road. A lot of the road riding is my work commute once/twice a week for about the five months during the year I can handle the weather. Between COVID and working from home so much and getting a little bored with the road, I am hoping to substitute the MTB for that.
The trails around here are mostly OK for Class 1 eMTBs. The BC government has restricted Class 2 and 3 on public trails but considers Class 1 pedal assist to be the same as normal MTBs. Whistler allows eMTBs on trails except for the higher alpine. I don't believe there are restrictions in Squamish for Class 1 bikes and the NSMBA for around here has not really restricted Class 1 pedal assist at this point (merely seem lukewarm to them).
As for bikes, I've been doing a bit more research and have narrowed it down to 4 (the Levo is a great bike by all accounts, but the price point is more than I can justify not knowing just how much riding I'm going to get back into):
As above, the Giant
Stance but also looking at the
Trance E+ 2 Pro. Better components (not sure that I like that Suntour front fork) and it comes with a dropper seat which closes the price gap a bit. Have a test ride for both set up for Thursday.
The Cannondale
Cujo Neo 130 also piqued my interest because it seems like a great value proposition, but another Suntour fork (albeit a slightly better one).
The last one is last year's Kona
Remote CTRL which I can find on clearance for $5200 (CDN) which is a really good deal. It's only available in a medium and at 5'7" may be a bit big but I'll ride it as well to see.