Need advice...just received new captivate

Hello everyone, well I have been lurking around the past 2 weeks gathering all the info I need to help me decide on the purchase of my 1st smartphone...the Captivate! 

I have been reading all about the "standby shutdown" issues and this article really stuck out to me.

http://www.wirelessandmobilenews.com/2011/01/samsung-galaxy-s-news-update-samsung-Captivate-turns-off-shuts-down-if-made-before-1106.html

I received my new phone this afternoon via amazon.com and found a few things surprising. According to that article, phones with IMEI numbers below 352982040855394 should be made before 11/06/10 and most likely have shut down issues. These phones will have the SW version i897UCJF6.

Phones made after 11/06/10 will have software version i897UCJH7, and according to this article "fixes the Power Cycling related to SW issues". My phone has the lower IMEI number indicating it is made before 11/06/10 and will have shutdown issues BUT it has the newest software making it ok and shutdown problem free???

A little confused on this and I have 30 days to find an issue and return in to AT&T for a brand new Captivate should I choose to. My question is being I have the "Bad" IMEI number range, should I just go ahead and not even set this bad boy up and exchange it for the "good" phone, or since I have the most recent SW that fixes  the shutdown problem, just keep the phone?

Sorry for the long post, but thanks for the help!

I am reading there is a way to input some numbers into the phone to bring up the service menu and check the manufacturing date that way as well? Is this true, and if so how do I do it? Thanks !

I have gone through two Captivates now.  My first Captivate (purchased in December of 2010) lasted about two weeks before it started shutting down.  The store changed out the phone and called it a defect.  My second phone lasted about four months before it started shutting down.  It had a manufacture code of 1010 which was supposed to solve the problem.  It didn't.  Now, I am on my third Captivate.  I hope this one does not have the same issues.  If it does I will try to exercise the three strike rule and make AT&T give me a different phone like an iPhone or something.  Grrrrr.