Success! Well, sorta'...
Ok, I followed the advice here and found it most helpful. Thank you guys so much!
I can program now, and have played with several configurations. I have found that it is way too easy to overload myself with channels and data, and some of the trunks/ TGID's are not "deletable" from the radioreference.com download, which is frustrating. I know which talkgroups I want, but I seem to be stuck having to grab a whole bunch, rather than just the one or two I need.
Oh, and I found out something incredibly important for all of us who are using the USB cable:
bctool+ will NOT function with the USB cable, it requires the DB-9 hook-up. Since I haven't had a PC with a serial port in about 2 years, Freescan looks like it is the only ticket, Freescan is a great product, but I wish it has some of the features of bctool+.
Oh, and a friend of mine showed me the Uniden programming software for his BCD-396-T. SHAME on Uniden for not providing a version for us upgraded buyers!