Thanks for all the feedback guys!
I'm going to bring the bike into the LBS tomorrow as the owner said he'd make sure everything fits right for my personal peace of mind. The guy claims he wouldn't have sold me the bike if when I got on it in the shop it didn't look like a good fit but this feels like a classic sales man move. The good news is I already have a potential buyer willing to take the bike off my hands at a very small loss ($50 pedals and bottle holder) so I'm thinking I'll probably just sell the thing at that little bit of loss. The shop has been in business for 32 years so I figured they'd be a good one with plenty of knowledge (especially since I was dealing directly with the owner) but looks like I got taken to the bank. The owner said tomorrow I can take a CAAD9-7 56cm out for a ride to see if I can feel a difference in the ride.
I'm not sure of my inseam I know when buying pants I usually go 32'ish length if that helps at all. Regarding the generic sizing where you lift the bike. If I straddle the top tube I'm seeing about 2 inches from my ... "t'aint" (for lack of a better word) to the top tube. When riding the bike I have the seat raised a good bit and can fully extend my legs without problem and the reach also feels pretty good... but I don't know what "good" is supposed to feel like. As for my proportions I'm pretty vanilla as far as leg to torso ratios go.
I hadn't thought of calling C'dale I figured they'd give me a "well do your research next time" response. I'll hit up another LBS and get proper measurements and a second opinion from them to see. I'll post back with more info when I get it.
Thanks a lot everyone!