I live/ride in CLT as well and I think continuing on a hardtail would be a great choice for you. In that price range a hardtail will be lighter and less complicated, no rear shock to service, no bushings or bearings to replace, etc. A hardtail will make you better at line choice, jumping, technical climbing, etc. It won’t hide holes in your skills like a full squish. I have a full suspension (Evil the Following) and a steel hardtail and I only pull out the Evil for trips to Pisgah and even there the hardtail is still a load of fun. My hardtail has similar geometry to the Kona Honzo which you could pick up locally at Queen City or the The Cycle Path. http://konaworld.com/honzo_al_dr.cfm
It has good brakes, a dropper seatpost, and a nice sram 1×11 build.
An alternative with even better value is the On-One Parkwood which is pretty similar to the Honzo or a Canfield Yelli Screamy. http://www.on-one.co.uk/c/q/bikes/mountain-bikes/parkwood
Finally, I could throw you together something custom to suit your budget! PM me if you have any interest, hopefully I’ll see you out on the trails here in town!