Dear Tallented1
Wow, you have made a big step. Keep reading all you can here and posting too.
I just wanted to address the gears thing.
It took me years to really understand them. (ah, heck, i still don't REALLY understand them)
there are two or three on the front and a whole bunch on the back.

The main thing is you don't need to worry which is which, just learn which direction to push them when the pedalling gets too hard (like up a hill) or when the pedalling gets too easy.. (like spinning out of control)
That's really all you have to know until you start getting more comfortable.
Bike riders arent thinking "hm, i'm in 4th gear, need to go up or down"
they're just pushing levers until they're comfortable.

Keep posting good luck.