Oh my Carol. I can't help you, but I must say you have a whole lot of patience.
I recently bought Firebox (audio interface with mixer) that came with Cubase LE. I didn't install it because I heard it wasn't that great, especially the light version. Also, I had just bought new software and they say stick to one and get to know it. So, that's what I did. After all the rig-a-ma-roll you went through, I'm glad I didn't.
If it's any consolation, I went through a lot of the same things. I got a new computer, the firebox, band in a box and power tracks all at the same time. I ended up having to buy a PCI Firewire card and my guitar teacher had to come over and figure out the rest for me. My husband is a great computer tekkie, just not for music software
I'm sure someone will come to the rescue. Oh Tekker and Tekker alikes?????
Good luck.
Nutty