Honestly I looked at the reviews of the Novation Impulse keyboards it's freaking me out how people are reporting shorts and how the keys stop working after 8 months... and how the USB ports break. I find that scary when I'm spending this type of money.
 
I've upped my budget to 400 and want some nice keys. I'm going to head to a music store and look around and feel some of the keyboards. Any recommendations in the $400 range?

 
The Roland A-800 PRO is 400$
 
I thought it was discontinued, but it's apparently made a comeback.
 

The Roland A800 is the 61-key model (pretty much $400-ish everywhere). I have had the A300 (32 keys) for about a year and it has a lot of slick features I have not even used (yet). Pretty much anything can be tweaked to the user's preferences. The ACT button on the unit is what surprised me most, since I simply pushed that button first use and the transport controls, etc. all came "online" (I did absolutely nothing in X3 to set this up). It is worth taking a look at if the music shop you head to carries them.

You have to be careful about online reviews.  Nobody hardly ever goes on line to praise a products, but everybody and the horse that rode them in will make complaints if something happens to break.  You will mostly find the latter.
 
I originally had to get 2 Novation 25 Le keys (they were blowing them out at the time) before I got one that the keys weren't coming lose.  It lasted about 7 years.  I replaced it w/ an Impulse 25.  I had to send it back for warranty work.  That is the thing, most problems will show up in the first month or so.  If you are worried, you can always get an extended warranty.
 
@

M-audio axiom air could be nice.

@DragonBlood
 
I bought and both recorded and gigged with a Yamaha YPG-235 keyboard, for $219, and it worked extremely well for me for almost 5 years of constant use.  It has decent feel, 76 notes, and about 400 sounds (about half are usable - rest are dogs barking and machine guns and whatevers).  I never worried about trying to map any buttons to ACT, so just used it really as a midi trigger for sounds from soft-synths, and for that, for ME, it fit the bill nicely.
 
I also JUST bought about a month ago, an M-Audio Keystation 88, for $129, brand new, that I use for piano parts mostly.  It is an 88-note midi controller with only volume, pitch bend, and mod wheel, but again, I didn't need to map anything for ACT for it - I just control things with my mouse in Sonar and then simply record with it.  So far, it has been fabulous.  Decent enough action, and full 88 keys.
 
My other controller is a much better one - Axiom Pro 61.  It has a bunch of faders and knobs and such, (which I still don't bother with ACT for), but more importantly for me is that it has a fantastic and solid action, and is quite rugged.  I usually use this controller for synth leads, as it just feels GREAT to play on it.  (this one cost me something like $450-$500, if I recall correctly)
 
I hope that gives you some additional info to ponder over, in your decision making process.
 
Bob Bone
 

This is the keyboard I've decided to go with.
http://www.akaipro.com/product/mpk-261

Looks like a good choice and I read one review that had positive things to say about it.

DragonBlood
This is the keyboard I've decided to go with.
http://www.akaipro.com/product/mpk-261

 
Looks very nice.  I hadn't seen this one before and I like the layout.
 
Please let us know what you think of the way it plays once you've had the chance.

I can't see purchasing a keyboard without trying it first. When I bought my Roland A49 I was in a music shop that had all the major brands on display. Almost all the ones marketed as DAW "controllers"  were cheap plastic toys. Some the keys were smaller than standard. 
 
The ones that felt solid and playable where all the standard major brands that have been making keyboards for a long time now. 
It's true if your not a keyboard player that you might not care, but would you recommend a guitar with terrible action to a beginner?