Tony,
For your Christmas wish list - a book like this one will save you lots of aggravation and be worth it's price twice over for background knowledge.
http://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Comp...ref=pd_sim_b_1
Sheldon Browns Web site and the park tools site mentioned above as well as many bicycle tutor videos etc can be found with goggle etc. I'm not trying to send you away but rather arm you with some basic resources that will save you time.