Depends on if you are open taping exclusively or not, but I would prefer, as a new user, to go with something simpler like an all-in-one as su6xone suggests. I'd avoid the Tascam due to bad battery life, but the PMD661 should do the trick and can have the pre's upgraded. The 661 is also small enough that you can do more discrete taping as well.
Don't get me wrong, the littlebox>M10 is good, and that's my main "stereo" rig I use, but I just find it easier to do something that's all-in-one, which is why I often run my Oade R-44 even when just doing stereo.
Assuming you spend approx $500 on recorder/pre, that leaves you $1500 for everything else. The Neumann SKM184 set is certainly very nice, albeit a little more than that. I don't see much of anyone with anything wrong to say about the AKG 460/480 or the Microtech Gefell M300. Getting either of those used will leave you some cash left over for stand, cables, mounts, and assorted other stuff you need. I don't know much about the Pelusos but they are US made, offer lots of different caps, and are loved by the folks who have them (of course, almost every mic is loved by the people that have it; if they didn't, they'd sell it).
I would suggest probably going with SDC vs. LD mics as a new user mostly for size and convenience, though that is not a knock on the ability to make excellent recordings with LD mics.