Well, I just got here. Missed all the fun. All I can contribute is that "ahnt" is as common in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi as is "ant." Black folks and older white folks mostly use the former. I actually® did field research on the pronunciation of this word in the SE US states (some 25 years ago), I'll see if I can dig it up.

Also, you who have faster computers/connections than mine (and that would be practically everybody here) can go to:

http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/dare/dare.html and check out amn't and aunt -- though, on second thought, you *may have to buy the book or go to the library. Last time I checked, there weren't many entries on the web site.