Probably questions that are better asked in the NG forum. But, your ccfs can be converted, by the NG software, for use in a 3000/7000. If I remember correctly, since the programmable screen size is larger in a 3000/7000, your pages won't fill up the entire area. Of course, a 7000 is color. While your can convert a 1000/2000 ccf by assigning colors, it doesn't come out looking very good. With the 7000, you'd get a more attractive result by starting from scratch.

If I understand your question about the cable correctly, it's still better to learn codes on the remote and then upload to the computer, rather than learn while attached to the computer.