So my questions = (1) am I correct that the coinmarketcap 'free ride' is coming to an end or did I misinterpret this?
Where did you read that? it would be nice to know the source to see if someone here can confirm the info.
(2) do I have another 'free' option of getting this information automatically updated in my spreadsheet?
There are several CMC alternatives like Cryptocompare, Coingecko, Coincap.io, Coincodex. Perhaps you could use one of those to keep your spreadsheet up to date, check to see if one of those provides an API
Yups.cryptocomapre is one of the best for me nowadays,they are sending updates about the price movemennt of this market with graps and value..daily i am receiving emails from them so i dont have to track from time to time..you better try their site OP for your convenience