Wow! There's a lot of great information here and I really appreciate it.

Here's a wrench to throw into the works though...are there available resources for learning without pre-existing experience, like some quality books for example?

I was considering sub-contracting the wiring work to someone until I was able to learn from them, but this experience is not likely to provide me with everything I need to learn in a relatively short period of time. Plus, I don't know how keen the sub-contractor would be on having me asking tons of questions, etc.

Thanks in advance!