Dave, the D-13e, or the D-12e are really sweet guitars. Before Covid, I was out looking for a D-18. As many times as not, I liked the D-12 better. It's a little brighter and livelier. I was confused and decided to wait a while, then Covid hit and I never got back out. When I do get out, I want to try the GC, Martin 16 style dread but that's a little out of your price range.
I think the D-12e is the best copy of the D-18 out there. It has nicer appointments than the d-13e and the sapelle back and sides give it some snap!
There are two easy ways to deal with the pick-up. One is to replace the braided UST with a generic Aura (solid not braided)UST. It requires soldering the wires. or you can remove the whole pick-up and install a JJB. Either will give you a nice improvement in both acoustic and plugged-in tone.
With either guitar, you'll be in for a treat. Good luck!
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