I/O prospect: Go straight to MA or do more research and apply for PhD??

[BenThereDoneThat]

I have been doing a LOT of research on I/O programs lately and am trying to figure out what I should do. I eventually want to get a PhD in I/O but know for a fact that I wouldn't get into a PhD program right now, so am just on the verge of applying to some MA/MS programs and retaking the GRE (took it last year but only got a 950). I was planning on applying to NYU, Columbia, George Mason, CSU- Long Beach, SFSU, and maybe San Jose State. I like the applied side of I/O more, but I do enjoy doing research but don't necessarily want to work in academia.

I'm graduating in a week with a B.S. in Psych, my overall GPA is a 3.0 (did bad my first year of school before transferring), Psychology GPA is a 3.6, and last 60 hours of school is a 3.5. I don't have much in the way of presentations or published papers, with the exception of my Research Methods class study and subsequent presentation of that paper. My only practicum experience is I worked in the HR dept of a non-profit company with 800 employees from May-August of this year, and am constructing a survey right now to help them with an accreditation process. When I was there, I helped with the interview and hiring process, created a couple of online training modules for the staff, and worked with several other dept's too.

Should I try to get into a Masters program for Fall 2012, or try to get good research experience and go immediately into a PhD? Since the cheapest school I'm trying to get into is ~$16,000/year (and NYU/Columbia are $24k), I'm trying to make sure I choose the right path. I have an extremely strong LOR from the Executive Director of the company from which I've been an intern at, and the head of the I/O dept at my current school (UTC) is also willing to write me one.

[BenThereDoneThat]

Also, in terms of research, what would be the easiest way to do research in an academic setting if you're not enrolled at that school? I'm moving from Chattanooga to Austin, TX at the end of this month, and would like to do research at UT, but doubt I'll be able to if I'm not a student there. Any suggestions?