Has anyone had to switch to a different research/study focus to obtain an RA postion?
There may be general assistantships available outside your department that could serve as a stop-gap until you can get within-department funding. The first year of my PhD I got funding working under a Dean in the School of Graduate studies. I also was a library GA during my master's. While funding specific to your degree is ideal of course, there are some fringe-benefits to some of these other positions. The library position allowed me to do my own work for 15 of my allotted 20 hours, and the Grad Studies position gave me a ton of insight into the inner-workings of administration that I may not have gotten otherwise.