I'm sure you're all just eager to see my progress. Well, the theme is built. Check this out for a sneak peek:
http://www.roudybob.net/index.php
I continue to be amazed at the ease with which one can install WP 1.5. The theme building process was fairly simple as well once I learned the ins and outs of the structure of the blog. Next step: Move over relevant data and start posting to new blog. I'll leave the current data intact and, depending on how easy it is, move over what I want to keep.