Personally I think 85 is more for portraits due to smoother bokeh. The 77 is a bit harsh (or 'sharp') in this case. So 77 is more suitable for general picture taking because of its compact size. Nevertheless, both are great.
As for the availability, same thing here, I ordered my 43 and 77 through the Pentax distributor, but it took 2-3 months before the lens arrived. So I thought it would be a great idea if I ordered my 24/2 from B&H - WRONG - because our crazy customs added 30% (tax and handling) to the total, and I did not have any choice but to pay for it. Last month, I went to my favorite photo store in Singapore and this time they don't have any exotic Pentax glass anymore. Last year, I still saw some LTD 77 and 43 put on the display. I remember that the store also offered me 28-70/2.8 FA just for $650 (100% new, because they could not sell it) - but I thought I did not need such lens - WRONG again! It's all regret now... >>I agree with you that 77mm is sharp enough even at wide open, particularly compared with 43mm LTD. I just remember that 85mm/1.4 was a tiny bit sharper at wide open when the focus was dead on. But my memory is fading on that, and I really have to look back photos taken with 85mm. I did not mean to discredit the wide open sharpness of 77mm :-).<<
