I would see how soon they can take you in at the office in Tallahassee Rich. IIRC they did mine pretty quick. And carrying with an expired permit is the same as not having one. No exceptions. A friend(former LEO) got arrested for same. By the way, the new permits are good for 7 years.
The state doesn't always send renewal notices for various permits/licenses/etc. The last explanation I heard was that a private company was contracted to do these but that they occassionally overlooked some folks!?