WP_Query Variable inside Array

Your array definitions aren’t correct. This…

elseif($_REQUEST["price"] == 20){$price = "array( '19', '20' )";}

… creates a literal string that reads “array( ’19’, ’20’ )”. Remove the quotes.

elseif($_REQUEST["price"] == 20){$price = array( '19', '20' );}

That should give you PHP arrays.