I hope I don't sound like a patronizing idiot...
...but best of luck to you Success_Machine. I'm sure it's obvious to everyone here that you have all the intellectual tools you need to go as far as you want.
I'm sorry you feel the way you do about diplomas...it sounds like you might be putting yourself under additional emotional strain in an already difficult time. A diploma can help grease the wheels with a recruiter or HR person, but that peice of paper is, as I'm sure you know, certainly not the be-all-and-end-all.
I hope you have good support and resource people to help you on your quest...and remember you've got lots of friends in here. (I hope you count me as one.)