Smevans,
Welcome, I think you will find, as I have, that this a newbie friendly site.
A new version of FS, "A Century of Flight", is to be released "in the summer of 2003" with a MSRP of $54.95. The MS announcement is here:
http://zone.msn.com/flightsim/FS02SpecialFS9.aspThere is also a forum here dedicated to ACOF.
As far as a joystick, I use a MS Sidewinder Pro with very good results. My minimum stick/pad requirements would be a hat switch and a throttle. Rudder and programmable buttons (the Sidewinder has 8) are highly recommended.
For a newbie guide, first try the lessons that come with the prog. After that, go to the Simviation Home link at the top of the page and look for the help sections.
You can always write here for specific questions.
Enjoy.