Hey NewbieChick,
It does sound like we have similar problem My boyfriend is also being very supportive and he is a good teacher. Unfortunatelly, none of who I know has the trainer, but I do know that some people put their bikes in between kitchen or room walls so they have something to hold on to from both sides and that's how they learn to clip and unclip. I did try my boyfriend's shoes and his pedals on his bike since we are the same height and shoe size, so I kinda got a feel of what it is like. And just like you i tried the strap pedals in the store and they were so tight on my shoe that I wondered whether going straight to clipless might work better for me. So, its sort of a tough call for me since the whole set of clipless and shoes is pretty expensive. Anyway, let me know if you are going to get them or not