Wow, that was quick!!! Thank you guys VERY much-- that answered my questions perfectly.
Regarding the programming of the pic, I plan to do that myself, as that is part of what I want to learn. I have programmed a couple pics, so I don't forsee any troubles with this. The code is provided in the last link provided in my first post, so it *should* be pretty simple (cough cough).
**broken link removed** is the Ebay programmer I am using, which I have been quite happy with so far.
Thanks again for your help, and I will try & keep you guys updated on the project... it sounds very intriguing to me.