Wow, nice collection! If you can make it to Hawaii, I would love to spend some time with you, Mike. Short of that, I assure you that if you ask for help, you will get it. We have some really knowledgeable guys on this forum and they will bend over backwards to help you.
As for a "lathes for dummies" book, the classic text is South Bend's "How To Run a Lathe". You can get reprints on ebay and it is worth a read. Just remember that they didn't use quick change tool posts or shape HSS tools the way we do today so things have changed a little but the meat of running a lathe is in that book.
As for tools, your lathe is big and rigid enough to use carbide, especially if the work piece you use allows you to get enough speed. If you plan to work with smaller diameters, say 1" and below, then HSS might just be the ticket. We can give you a hand on the
model tools thread; lots of guys started from zero there and have become accomplished tool grinders so you'll have a lot of help. I will also be happy to discuss tool grinding with you there, too.
Learning to run a lathe is not difficult. You will find that the lathe is the best teacher of all machine tools once you figure out how to decipher what it is telling you.
Another way you can access help is to PM any member that you feel comfortable with. Sometimes that works the best and a lot of info can be exchanged one on one. If I can help, PM me.