When did you get the phone? I got mine maybe three weeks ago, if that, and when I activated it there were no updates available and there haven't been any since. I'm wondering if maybe it's showing an update that's not really there - a bug of some sort.
For me personally, I've made Gingerbread more tolerable by rooting (it's possible using the AT&T SGH-I777 method, Google it, you just can't install CWM recovery afterward and therefore can't install Cyanomod) and using Holo Launcher (implements the ICS launcher in Gingerbread). All of that is like giving morphine to a somebody who just got their legs blown off though. It helps a bit, but it doesn't solve the core problem.
I don't really think you have any other option than returning and getting a different phone (not from ST or TF) if ICS or JB is a must. =/