A CIRRUS SR22 PLT DEPARTED A CTAF ARPT VFR TO ACQUIRE AN IFR CLRNC BUT ENCOUNTERED IMC AND HAD AN NMAC WITH AN APCHING ACFT.

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I LANDED AT SSI TO GET SOME FUEL. WE WERE GOING TO GET SOME LUNCH AND THEN HEAD ON; BUT I CHKED THE RADAR AND NOTICED THAT THERE WERE POPCORN TSTMS ON THE E SIDE ALONG MY RTE. I WAS WORRIED THAT THE WX WOULD CONTINUE TO GET WORSE AND SO I DECIDED WE SHOULD JUST REFUEL AND LEAVE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. THAT WAS MY FIRST MISTAKE AND MAJOR MISTAKE. I SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN A HURRY. WE DID NOT HAVE ANY SPECIFIC TIME TO MAKE ORLANDO; BUT I HAVE CANCELED SO MANY PREVIOUS FLTS DUE TO TSTMS THAT I DID NOT WANT TO HAVE TO DO THAT LATER IN THE DAY IF THE STORMS GOT WORSE AND EVEN THOUGH IT IS WINTER; I KNOW THAT FLORIDA IS FAMOUS FOR ITS TSTMS. THERE WAS ALSO A LARGE WX SYS/COLD FRONT TO THE W THAT WAS NOT FORECAST TO COME TILL LATER; BUT IT LOOKED AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. I MADE A RADIO CALL OVER UNICOM AND TAXIED FOR RWY 22. THE CLOUDS WERE LOW SCATTERED SCUD BUT THE VISIBILITY WAS GOOD. WHEN I HAD LANDED 30 MINS EARLIER; IT WAS SCATTERED SCUD BUT I COULD SEE THROUGH IT. I DID MY RUN-UP AND TRIED TO GET A CLRNC ON THE GND WITH MY CELL PHONE BUT COULD NOT GET THROUGH. I THEN SWITCHED FREQ TO JAX APCH TO SEE IF I COULD GET THEM ON THE GND. I COULD NOT GET THROUGH TO CLRNC DELIVERY AND STARTED TO GET IMPATIENT. A GULFSTREAM MADE A CALL 8 MI OUT AND THEN LANDED ON RWY 22. I LOOKED AT THE CLOUDS AND COULD SEE THROUGH THE SCATTERED LAYER TO CLR ABOVE. I THOUGHT THAT I COULD GET THROUGH A HOLE AND KEEP VFR AND PICK UP MY CLRNC IN THE AIR. THE GUY THAT HAD LANDED IN FRONT OF ME WHEN I HAD LANDED CANCELED HIS IFR FLT PLAN IN THE AIR AND LANDED VFR; SO I CONVINCED MYSELF I COULD DO THE SAME THING TO GET OUT. I MADE A RADIO CALL ON 123.05 CTAF THAT I WAS DEPARTING FROM RWY 22; THEN I BACK-TAXIED TO USE ALL AVAILABLE RWY AND THEN MADE A CALL THAT I WAS DEPARTING RWY 22 AGAIN. I HAD NOT HEARD ANY CALLS AFTER THE GULFSTREAM HAD LANDED. AS I TOOK OFF; EVERYTHING SEEMED FINE; BUT AROUND 300 FT I GOT A TFC ALERT. THIS IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE AROUND ARPTS SINCE PLTS DO NOT TURN OFF THEIR XPONDERS AFTER LNDG; SO I HAD GOTTEN USED TO THE TA'S ON LNDG AND TKOF AND THOUGHT THAT IT WAS JUST THE GULFSTREAM THAT HAD THEIR XPONDER ON SINCE THEY WERE STILL ON THE TXWY. I DID NOT LOOK AT THE TFC ALERT SCREEN BECAUSE THIS TCASII SYS SHOWS THE SAME ACFT IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS SOMETIMES WITH A DISCREPANCY OF 1 MI OR SO AND I WOULD HAVE JUST ASSUMED IT WAS THE GULFSTREAM ON THE TXWY. AROUND 400 FT; I ENTERED A CLOUD FOR A VERY SHORT SECOND. AS I EMERGED; I SAW A MERLIN ON APCH FOR RWY 4. I IMMEDIATELY ALTERED COURSE TO THE R ABOUT 1 MI FROM THE MERLIN WHO WAS ABOUT 500 FT ABOVE US. I THEN CALLED ATC AND OPENED MY IFR FLT PLAN WHILE I WAS IN VFR CONDITIONS. FACTORS THAT LED UP TO THIS HAPPENING WERE MY GET THEREITIS; MY DESIRE TO BEAT THE WX; MY NOT LISTENING TO A TFC ALERT; AND MY THINKING I COULD MAKE IT THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE CLOUDS THAT I COULD SEE THROUGH ON THE GND; BUT ONCE IN THE AIR IT WAS A DIFFERENT STORY.