New to tri's, bike advice for tall guy (6'5")

I am 6'7" and my first road bike was a 64cm and it seemed to fit.  My current tri bike isa 61 and seems okay too.  Bikes are really different by manufacture so saying a 62 is what you need could come back to bite you.

I got both of my bikes from bikesdirect.com for well under $1K.

1. Went to a store that had one of those fit bikes.
2. rode this fit bike while they tweaked it for an hour. (everything is adjustable)
3. paid the guy around $100-150 for his time and the paper that had all the drawings of length etc.
4. Look for bikes that could do what i learned I could do.

I am 6'6" and bought a 63cm cannondale caad9 5.  Got a great fitting done and am very happy with the bike.  I find that many LBS don't carry a wide selection of 60cm+ bikes.  Many by me have none at all.  YOu may have to order it.  If you can, get pre fit measurements and have someone who knows what they are doing match it against several bikes.  The other bikes I looked at were the Trek 2.1 and 1.5.  Entry level bikes will be anywhere from $800-1000 but a nice price point is $1500.

Some other thoughts:

1. Get a bike fit. For guys our size I think it is  very important. 
2. Try and get 105 compenents.  You want this to be a long term purchase.
3. Although it is tempting, stay away from an internet bike.  I had to have some adjustments done on my bike and had no idea what I was doing.  My shop took care of evrything for free and gave me some quick lessons on adjustments.
4.  Buy from a shop/owner you trust.  I found some shops to be more like car dealers.  You want to have a good relationship with the LBS.

I'd highly recommend going to see a reputable bike fitter and see if any stock bikes fall within your personal fit parameters.  If so, great.  If not, you're the reason custom frame makers like Guru or Serotta exist.

Just for the record, Serotta doesn't exist as a running builder currently. Though there are MANY others, likely one or two local to the OP.