On Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 6:21:45 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Wed, 15 Apr 2015 19:24:42 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

At this rate, am I better off fixing it or replacing it?

So you paid $70 and the asshole refused to even answer your questions.
I'd refuse to pay him. If you already did and used a credit card, or
check, cancel the payment. The report the asshole to the BBB and
complain to Angies List as well.

$50 per pound sounds like highway robbery. I bet you can buy a canister
of freon and rent the stuff needed to install it for much less. But does
it really need the freon? After refusing to pay the guy, get a second
opinion.

Agree with most of what others have already said. Especially the
question by Gfre, as to whether the system is actually running/cooling
or did it have a problem that initiated the checkup?
It's not unusual for scammers to offer $70 checkups and then tell
you that you need expensive repairs, sell you a new system, etc.
At the very least, I'd call in another company for an opinion without
telling them what this guy said.

The cost of R22 has varied, looks like it's about $10/lb now.
$50/lb seems OK if it needs a pound or two, but $400 for 8 pounds
seems excessive to me too. But before getting to that, it needs
to be determined what's leaking. If it's one of the shrader valves,
it's a $1 fix. If it's the evaporator, may be time for a new system.
But I wouldn't trust a guy that won't even answer questions.