Started my car up yesterday and the yellow check engine light stayed on. I'm going down to AutoZone as soon as I can to see if they'll read the code....

My main question is does that model have a varying degree of seriousness light....in other words, would it be red or maybe blinking depending on what the issue is?

 

It's either off, yellow solid, or yellow blinking. Blinking indicates a misfire. If you were to keep driving while misfiring, it is prone to melt down the catalytic converter (expensive). That's why the light blinks for that more serious situation.