So after a few close calls I decided to put a front brake on. I got the caliper and the cable and housing and a set of crosstop levers. I went to install the lever (leftside), though, and the cable and housing come out on the left side. I was wondering if there was an alternative, or if I was just doing something wrong that would make the cable come out on the right, towards the caliper instead of away?

With cross levers it doesn't matter which way the cable is routed.

.....mmmmmm....errrrrr.....uhhhhhhhhh.........i'll try....

if the lever is installed on the left bar (lever pointing left), the cable housiing should exit from the right. Remove the cable from the housing, thread it through the interrupter (left to right). You should now have the cable-stop exiting to the left of the lever, and the cable exiting to the right. Re-thread the housing onto the cable. You should now have the cable-stop to the left, and the cable/housing to the right. Connect to caliper.

where are you going wrong? Or am i misreading your problem?

I've seen it done, but have no info as to how it was done.

No need for instructions. Just route cable and see.

Yup.

think of it this way....
routed one way (cable end to the right), squeezing the lever pulls the cable. routed the other way (cable the end to the left) squeezing the lever pushes the housing.

So I figured that it can go either way, that makes sense now. However, I was looking at the cable in the lever, and setting it up with the cable leading out the right seems it is pulling the cable against the metal as opposed to the rubber grommet. I might just be over analyzing this, or has anyone had any specific trouble with excessive fraying?

Hopefully nobody has ridden a setup like that long enough to find out. It sounds like you have something running wrong or the brake cable is tweaked. Is it too short? Do you have pics?

It's because it's meant to be used inline.

There is much more friction which makes braking feel like **** IMO and it does cause some wear. I have never heard of fraying however.

I was thinking about this recently. Aren't many of the "inline" style levers folks around the forum use designed only as an additional brake to be used with road levers? A BMX style lever has the little ball on the end of the cable and pulling the lever pulls the actual ball/cable up. Many of the inline levers, while working, just kind of push the cable out as the lever is pulled away from the brake clamp.

I know it works, but just wondering if the inline levers should be replaced by a BMX style lever if one was interested in maximum efficiency/braking power.

Yes but it's more a feel/modulation issue then a power issue.

In-line levers work like crap with most old school single pivot calipers as far as braking efficiency. Single pivots are ok for general stopping but they're hell on your hand when you have long steep descents where you have to constantly ride on your brake.
These levers work well with dual pivot calipers. I recently replaced all my single pivot front calipers with dual pivots.

I originally was going to get a bmx lever, however none of my LBS carry lefties. Would a right handed bmx lever flipped work more efficiently than the crosstop?

yes

So I got the BMX lever and it looks much more efficient mechanically, but for some reason it won't fit on to the bars? They are crimped for (I am assuming) cable routing, would this perhaps be the cause of this? and if so, how would I fix it?

Next time, just take your bars into the bike shop with you and tell them you want something that will fit.