Toyota Repair: 98 camry le, 4 cylinder, obd system, component failures

Question
My camry has 98000 miles, and I had the major 90k service done a few thousand miles ago.  

A couple of days ago the check engine  light came on.  Today it went off, I think after I got gas. (I've heard of people having problems with the gas cap not being on right).The car is running fine, and I had the battery tested today when I got my oil changed at a quicky place and it was fine.

My well respected mechanic wants to charge their standard $82 an hour to diagnose.  

Once I have a code # is their a way to figure out what it is easily, without paying alot of money? Maybe I can take it somewhere less expensive just to get the code?

Should I bother to bring it in and have it checked out now?  Do you have any other suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

Answer
90% of all check engine lights are caused by emission control component failures and normally do not affect driveability, I recommend that you find out if there are any codes stored in the OBD system, there are autoparts stores that will help you retreive the code at no charge, if there is an Autozone store near you you can go there they will help you get the code, once you have that information you can get back to me and I will be able to help more.