okay, so it's at the shop now getting looked at.
i called a tow truck through my auto club, called at 9:00AM, they said someone would be there by 10:30, 11:00 at the latest.
they called back at 11:30 to inform me that the tow truck sent to my location had gotten into a car accident and would need to be towed. they then called a new tow truck out, which arrived at 12:30. just my luck.