Thank you so much for the help and advice!
Believe it or not I actually figured out the dipswitch set up - with a huge exception. It took me a while to realize that I had to turn switch #1 on in order to set the start channel. Once I did that everything was golden. I really like the FC400 - very cool and easy to use.
Your info has really helped out as far as the differences between the different modes. I'm excited to delve further into DMX.
Thanks again!