I've been there, I feel your pain!
Doug,
I started with CS and made it all the way to CS2 without ever creating a layer. A combination of fear and stupidity.
Ken is absolutely correct. Join NAPP. The 99 bucks will be well spent if you do nothing more than watch the video tutorials. It is amazing, the extent of topics covered.
Also, a simple Google search for Photoshop+tutorials will return a wealth of information. There are so many sites with free tutorials.
Good luck!