Thanks for this (anmd everyone else's suggestions) - gives me encouragement ot have another crack at it. This guide in particular looks like a solid runthrough of the stages along the way.
Thanks a stack for that link. Having the right doc is everything. I followed it through and everything Just Worked for me. I was at the stage of hunting ebay for good deals on ciscos before this thread, you've saved me money and time.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=202834