Ok. a little note to any new folks out there (like me) and hope everyone reads this whole thread before doing this (this is a really well put together guide btw)
When i sourced the first database (the big one), i went for a cup of coffee and did a couple more things and came back and waited...and waited. when it got done, i lost track of where i was and cut right to the next procedure (the delete items deal)
DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID!
be sure to source the other little items into the database first. what happened was when i ran the perl load items, i got a crapload of errors because i skipped the 6.0-6.1 convert and had to start ALL OVER hehe