Jumping from front office derivatives to M&A

Thought I would get the many monkey's opinions on the subject.

I currently work in fixed income derivatives as an analyst and am really keen on moving into M&A.

Last year I came to the conclusion that trading wasn't for me as I enjoy more analytical career paths. Having spoken to friend's in the industry I have concluded that my skill set suits M&A the most. I am pretty comfortable with DCF's (check my blog http://www.1percentblog.com just made one for Mulberry) and currently reading up on the lbo model. Finally I should mention I worked in equity sales for two years as well (5yrs total experience out of college)

Here's the kicker. How do I jump ship???

Currently I am hoping to get a place on a solid MBA program but need to consider alternatives, in case this doesn't work.

Have started Linkedin networking which is slowly yielding replies but no interviews.

Have asked my friends in M&A positions to get my CV through...still ongoing.

All recruiters say that they can't help me because firms prefer recent grads as opposed to guys who have done a stint working.

Looking at Masters of Finance, are they worth it?