Ok so I've taken in all the info ...

Again, I see water into the pit only during a heavy heavy rain cycle,
like last night....it stopped raining about 3 hours ago, but thepit is
still filling and pumping out, the cycle gets shorter each time, so the
water is coming to a halt under the foundation. The only other time i
see water is during the spring thaw, when all the snow melts
....typically this is over a couple days. I'd say my pump would be
working for about 5-6 days roughly a year....I dont have a huge water
problem, just a minor one that caused the previous owner to not spend
the $ for a french drain.

I think I will go with a battery backup to control the pump while we
are not home, then purchase another backup pump in the event my primary
dies, along with a generator to keep it going if we had a power
failure.

Also, the place that put my french drain in has a warranty against all
equiptment i bought, not sure what it was, probably like 2 years or
something. I've read that sump pumps have come a long way as far as
reliablity and what not....my concern isnt that I wont have a pump
workign when i need it, but rather no power (then again i think i lost
power at my house maybe 2-3 times in the last 2 year for about 10-20
seconds each time).

Thanks all for your responses...it feels nice to have a new area in my
house now to live in...i'd just like to keep it livable.