causing the slips. Still requires dropping the transmission.

Has it been adjusted? Sometimes you can get a little more life out of it after adjustment.

And resurface the flywheel while you're at it. It really sucks to yank the transmission in a few months because one wanted to save money on a few parts.

No you don't need a whole new system.

Most likely the throw out bearing, clutch disc and pressure plate will need replacing. Parts can run up to $500 depending on make/model. Figure 5-7 hours labor. Why is it slipping? Maybe the master and slave cylinders need rebuilding and that's wicked inexpensive. If you have any mechanical capacity you could do it yourself (the cylinders not the clutch rebuild I don't think I would do the rebuild and I am an excellent shade tree mechanic). I don't know what you're driving so is that worth it? As Click and Clack the Tappet brothers say: a car repair is cheaper than car payments

I'll add I usually figure $3000 for a tranny repair. This is less than the tranny but still the tranny is involved. Second to resurfacing the flywheel.

The number of vehicles where this is possible without a hoist and transmission jack grows shorter daily. That being said,, there are several things in the actuating system that may cause slipping - as the clutch disc wears, it may require an adjustment

The number of vehicles where this is possible without a hoist and transmission jack grows shorter daily. That being said,, there are several things in the actuating system that may cause slipping - as the clutch disc wears, it may require an adjustment to regain full clamping load.
IMHO, in almost all modern cars, this is a job for a pro, who does these regularly.