The K100D, K10D, and K110D all have metered manual mode (and a buncha others, but you never have to leave manual mode).

They range in price from $599 to $999 (list) with a
18-55 (Equal to a 35mm 27mm-83mm) zoom lens and in resolutions from 6-10MP.

Here's a link for K110D ($599 model) specifications.
http://www.pentaxslr.com/pdf/K110D%20Specs.pdf
You can get that and manuals for all of them from the main site page http://www.pentaxslr.com/systemOverview

It also takes old Pentax K-mount lenses (with restrictions) and everything since then, and has anti-shake technology so you can take photos at much slower speeds than used to be possible.

Wow – it even takes screw-mount and 645 lenses (and everything made since then too).
The nice thing about them is that whatever you put on it becomes a 1.5 times longer lens. You could pick up a screw mount 400mm for $15 bucks and have a 600mm lens. Or a light 500mm mirror and have a 750mm lens – without the light or quality loss that a tele-converter would.

Quote from Pentax web site:
"We were always great fans of the classic PENTAX K1000…so when we discovered how much the PENTAX K100D followed the simple and easy-to-use philosophy…we loved it immediately."

-PC PHOTO, November 2006

I'd download the manuals and read through them and see if manual mode looks easy enough. Then, go to a camera store and get some hand-on time with them.

And if they are helpful, and you can, please buy from them.
People deciding on cameras at my friends store and then buying them for $25 cheaper mail order or on the internet is what finally made him go out of business.
References :
35 years as a "serious amateur" photographer

Worked in a camera store from 1977-1981.
Taught High School photography classes.

Worked in a camera store again – off and on from 1993-2004 (a friend of mine bought one, and I just couldn't stay away, so I hung around and filled in a bit when I could).