Bizarre & if you go by the receipt, that is indeed all the time we have. My online chat rep yesterday also told me 14 days from purchase but I didn't yet know about the online return date showing as different or would've asked. It sounds like some kind of glitch where the right hand isn't talking to the left.
I made a screenshot last night too. If I can fit it in, I'll swing by an Apple store tomorrow after a doctor appt. since I'll be near one. If I go, I'll take a print out of the screenshot along with my original receipt to see what I can find out.
Alright, just closed this out - I decided on going with my first option. Basically, I just bought a new ipad online from the apple store and scheduled it for in-store pickup.
I just returned the ipad I had previously for a refund. And picked up the one I ordered from Apple.com.
The whole process took about 10 minutes and was super painless. Seconds after the rep in the retail store scanned the new ipad I ordered from apple.com - I logged in and seen the 'eligible for return' date as January 7.
Took 15 minutes to restore my backup from the previous air, I'm back up and running - and happy as a clam!
Thanks for your help!!