Does anyone know if there is another way to make a 3rd gens hatch close completely bypassing the electric hatch pulldown??? I'd rather not spend the $$$ on a new motor and whatnot if possible! thanks in advance for any help!

I suppose you could go to a scrap yard and try to find an older 3rd gen that doesn't have the auto pulldown mechanism and do a swap. Finding those cars in scrapyards is rather difficualt though.