I've asked around in my real estate circles and nobody seems to have a definitive answer (including my CPA or the 1031 intermediary). 

I've worked with a lot of buyers doing 1031 Exchanges, so if you need a referral for an intermediary, let me know. 

Doing a 1031 costs money as you have to hire a licensed 1031 intermediary.

never done this before, but understand that I need a 3rd party Qualified intermediary.  

The "bottom level" magic number is your Net Equity or Cash that will come out of the sale.  100% of the Net Equity would be held by the Qualified Intermediary and then reinvested in your replacement property. 

Have you found a good Qualified Intermediary in order to process the 1031?  

You could structure a Reverse Improvement 1031 Exchange where your Qualified Intermediary acquires and holds or "parks" legal title to the replacement property and then you have the 180 calendar days to (1) complete any improvements that you wish to make and (2) sell and close on the sale of your existing relinquished property.  

I had arranged everything with the title Company doing the closing however they did not follow the process (that they acknowledge in writing) to get the funds from the 1031 intermediary.

In a reverse exchange the new property is actually purchased by the qualified intermediary and held for the client. 

We had a team including an SEC attorney, a 1031 intermediary, a Tax Attorney that was recommended by the intermediary and experienced in these matters, and a CPA and the meetings and timelines made it almost impossible to complete the transaction.