Need help with my hyper yellow lab?

OK, I have a monstrous 2 1/2 year old yellow lab, and I'm joining the army but don't want to give up the lovable monster so I absolutely have to get him in line so he can stay with my parents. To begin with, I take full responsibility for his current behavioral condition - I got him as a senior in college (gift from a gf), he was raised in a frat house (terrible environment for a puppy) and is now simply uncontrollable unless I'm within earshot. I was admittedly too hard on him in his first year, so now I'm aware he listens to me more out of fear than willingness to please, but he is by no means a vicious dog, he's great with my younger sisters and always has his tail wagging and a dumb grin on his face. For a long time, the biggest complaint was his destruction - he ate more than I can begin to list. Now, though, the biggest problem is that he's perfectly calm when it's just one or maybe two people in the room (he's sleeping on the couch as I type this), but the second there's more than that in the room, it's like he has to be up and active (which is a nuisance given the fact that he's 120 lbs with a constantly swinging louisville slugger attached to his ***). He believes he's a giant lap dog, and just has no regard for anyone's personal space lol. I'm inclined to try obedience school, but my parents don't think that is what he needs, and I don't want to waste the money unnecessarily. I'm not looking for a magic fix or anything, just some advice for a guy who knows he messed up his puppy training and doesn't want to lose his dog because of it. Thanks.