First off, Welcome aboard olddude! Glad to have you with us, and let me be the first to say Thank You for joining!
As for the backhoe attachment, I wish my Dad had one for his 2305. I have a lot of landscaping around here that a backhoe would really come in handy. He has the front bucket for it, but there are times when you wish you could get deeper with a smaller path. The local hardware store has the same tractor as Dad's with the hoe attachment, so I guess when the time comes to get started, I'll be looking to rent it. Takes some practice to operate one, so keep that in mind if possibly working around overhead or underground lines. Some guys have enough experience to know when they snagged an underground line, and I'm sure with enough practice you could get the feel for it as well.
Sorry I couldn't help you out better, but hopefully someone else will be along that will have more experience than I do.