welcome to jmm9974 and kjkrzycki!!! i think you'll find this place to hold a wealth of info, and lots of friendly members more than willing to help and exchange ideas. don't be afraid to get involved, browse around, join in discussions, and ask for help - that's what we're all her for!
i recommend the DroidForums.net app (free in the mkt), which makes staying plugged into this forum extremely easy and convenient!!
Jmarie, as for your flashing problem, the first thing is to make sure you wipe data and cache before installing. secondly, are you using SPRecovery or ClockworkMod Recovery?? if it's SPR, make sure that your rom zip is named "update.zip" and not "update.zip.zip". sometimes your PC will not show the file extensions, even tho it's there. having the dup extension will prevent a successful install. also, make sure that your rom zip is on the root of your sdcard, and not in any folder. finally, that error message could indicate a corrupt download of the rom zip. redownload it to your pc, copy to your sdcard, and try to reflash it.
if you still are having problems, visit our Droid Hacks, Hacking Help, and Rescue Squad sections. you're one of many who has had this issue come up, and you should be able to find some alternate solutions by searching the threads. if you still can't get it working, post in one of those sections, and you'll get some help in no time!
enjoy!!