Folksiegrl

Hi all. I'm new to this community....I am sure glad I stumbled upon it as there is so much for me to learn. About a year ago, I purchased a 96 Legacy Outback, 2.5L. Things have been well w/ the car (other than some "normal" repairs). Then, last weekend, I overheated and took it to my mechanic. Based on the fact that there was oil in the coolant tank, he told me that I had probably blown a head gasket. However, after flushing and cleaning everything out and replacing the fluids, there was no mixture of oil and water. I've driven the car all day today and I keep checking the coolant. Is it still possible that there might be a problem w/ the head gasket or head itself? My mechanic thinks that the place that did my oil change a week earlier may have accidentally put the oil in the coolant tank....do people really make huge mistakes like that? I also had the front axles replaced b/c the front left was shot. However, I am still experiencing problems when I make very sharp turns (the car seems to skip). I've read here that this might be related to the differential. Any thoughts on that? Lastly, b/c my mechanic doesn't seem to be as knowledgeable as I thought, I was wondering if anyone here knows of someone that will know how to work on my car in the Los Angeles/Long Beach, CA area? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I love my car and hope to get these issues resolved but I also don't want to put more money into it than it's worth.....I'd rather sell it and move on to a better Outback if necessary (although that's not my first choice). Lisa