Hi Mrr211,
Thanks for letting us know what you ended up deciding … and congratulations on your new mattress 
Based on the Tempurpedic testing you did and on your experience with your friend’s mattress is sounds like you made a great choice.
[quote]I went with this foundation: www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00471HVDW/ref=pd…=SL500_SS115&simLd=1
The price kept fluctuating from $202 down to $178. Got lucky and found it for $159 one day and immediately pounced. I will let you all know about the wood quality and measure the distance between the slats as soon as it is set up.[/quote]
It will be interesting to see if it’s still the same 3 3/8" as it was here. It would certainly be a suitable foundation for your mattress.
There are also other forum members that have purchased the Malouf Sleep Tite mattress protector as well and been happy with it.
I’m looking forward to your feedback when you receive everything and have had the chance to sleep on it.
Phoenix