It sounds crazy, but...
 

...if I were to get a decent mic and attach it to one of those pen-sized pocket recorders that record directly into .mp3 or .wav? I'm thinking for sound effects. If I plugged an Audiotechnica AT9360 or A Sony ECM-MS908C for a mic into one of those things, it should produce pretty good sound I can USB right into my hard drive, right? Anyone know if this is a good cheap way to record sound for dv movies?

It would certainly be fairly inexpensive, but it would not be my first choice for quality. Size, compactness, weight and cost would be the major benefits.

Well, I've been trying to find a DAT recorder, but they don't sell them here any longer it seems. What other relatively cheap setup would you recommend?

I use a Sharp MT-15 minidisk. I can't go direct-to-digital, but I've been getting very good sound quality by simply capturing the analog output. I use it for ambient sound, and for recording street musicians, etc.