Sand in iPod port - what to do?

Hello,

By some horrible misfortune, my iPod (black 30GB 5th gen. video) was dropped into sand on the beach yesterday, and the connection port in the bottom really got a mouth full. I let it dry out for a while before trying to tap most or all of the sand out.

Everything is working fine with my iPod, except that the connections to my computer, iHome, iTrip, wall charger, etc. all seem to be a little faulty. I can get it to connect to all of these items (except the iTrip - it won't turn on when connected, even if my iPod is playing), and I can get it to sync to my computer and play through the iHome. But sometimes it will disconnect by itself, or say it's connected but not really seem to be charging at all.

Could something have come loose in the port? Can this be fixed at an Apple retail store, or is there anything I can do?

Thanks for your help!

Amanda