Spend my $1000 on a turntable

In my experience, there are so called “entry level turntables”, and then there are high end turntables. All the Pro-Ject Debut, less expensive Rega, And Orbit record players are nice. I had a Debut that I outfitted with an acrylic platter, and Grado Gold cart, and it was great! But, I soon outgrew this entry level outfit. And when I moved into the more affordable high end tables, the Scout, I was floored by the difference. A real step up! My son in law wanted to get into vinyl, so I gave him the Project. He loved it! But, it wasn’t a year and he had upgraded to a Music Hall Ikura. If you jump up to the $1600 to $2000 range, you are moving into some really nice record players that you will be sure not to outgrow any time soon. Of course, if you are shopping used, you can aquire something in this price range for much less, hopefully around $1000. In my personal experience, once again, I have never regretted spending money on something nice, and I tend to shop towards the top of my price range, to ward off the need to upgrade for as long as possible. But, that’s just me. And it also depends on your anchillary equipment, if your stereo is quite modest, perhaps the less expensive ‘tables are a better match?  Just my 2 cents. 

If you were happy w'technics buy a denon vj12 which is a well built OEM tt and from reviews I've read spanks VPI Traveler's and that ilk for sound quality and has a ring around the platter that changes colors with the flick of a knob.

why not just keep what you have and get a better cartridge or maybe upgrade the arm.  I am not sure how the older technics arms perform with newer carts.  I had one when I was younger and I loved it.

I’ve had Pro-Ject/Music Hall (Pro-Ject made Music Hall tables for Roy Hall and now Pro-Ject owns Music Hall) for years...I’ve had pleasing results with them. The Music Hall MMF2.1 should be avoided (some cartridges pick up motor noise) but farther up the line the value is quite good.

At your price point, I think a (used) Pro-Ject RPM 5 carbon in red would be amazing...I say used because new they are ~$1500 but perhaps you can find one on AudioGon or locally.

For new at your price point, the Pro-Ject RPM 3 Carbon is a nice choice: https://www.abt.com/product/95962/Pro-Ject-RPM-3-Carbon-Red-Turntable-RPM3CARBONRED.html?utm_source=...

If you can find one new...a killer table at your price point is a Pro-Ject RM5.1SE setup (It came in a gray color)...it came with a Sumiko Blue Point No. 2 cartridge...I have seen them go new as low as $699 which is a killer deal on that table: http://www.pro-jectusa.com/en-us/products/pro-ject-analog/legacy-products/rm-5-1-se

One last comment:  Don't underestimate how much better a moving-coil cartridge will sound on any turntable vs. a moving magnet.  I'd rather have a nice cart on an OK table than a lousy cart on a great table.  A good value is an Ortofon MC Quintet Blue when you get ready for an upgrade.  I also have a Benz Micro Gold high output MC and a Goldring Eroica Low output MC and they smoke all the MM cartridges I've heard.  The downfall to Low Output MC carts is that you need a phono stage that can handle them or a step-up transformer.  I once had my Benz Micro Gold on a Music Hall MMF2.1 into a Hagerman Bugle phone stage and it sounded quite amazing for the amount of money I had invested in it.