As far as I could (didn't remove it since I didn't want to remove the PS pump) and I looked as well I could down in there with a flash light. I didn't see any drips, water, leaks, or anything. Of course all I could see was the timing gears. Some parts down in there looked like they were covered in clumps of oil but I saw no antifreeze. I noticed a hose on the very bottom driver's side of the engine (looks like it might be a cooling system hose to me) that looks pretty old and oil saturated. I can't reach it easily though but I wonder if that could be the key?

You can easily pull the top cover off without bothering anything else, especially the pump. However, if there is another coolant hose which appears saturated, then it may be your problem. Any rubber hose in that area can be rotted if you haven't changed them lately. Some will leak only when the car is running or seep all the time. Sometimes when they are rotted real bad, you can even poke your finger through them. You have to check all the hoses real good on top and bottom.
If you do have a leak at the pump, that can also be done without investing too much in extra tools and labor. Maybe they left a bolt holding the pump too loose. It is fairly easy to check those things. I would spend a lot of time looking for a hose leak before going at the pump this soon. Even at the pump, the outter sealing ring can be the problem and not the pump itself. In the end, if it is the pump then at least you tried the easy stuff first.

Incidentally, that hose you mention may be hydraulic or A/C. You better see where it connects before you bother it.

that sounds like the PCV hose. By the by if that is rotted you can get all kinds of running problems as the mixture will vary.

I wasn't able to slip the right side of the cover out from by the power steering pump (the bump in the cover was blocked by the PS pump) and I didn't want to risk breaking anything, especially the timing belt. If I can't get this resolved soon I may have to just take it in to my mechanic and have him diagnose it before the freezing mornings start.

Loosen the slack adjuster lock nut on the right back side: then loosen the adjuster bolt, top right side. This will loosen the belt so you can pull the the main long bolt from the pump bracket. Leave the hoses connected and just move it out of your way. Then you can see the small, turbo cooling hose/pipe connection we talked about. It is located right down under the main hydraulic (power steering) pump bracket.