Please forgive my ignorance.  In the last 7 months I have learned how to fly the FS2002 planes basically and spent time learning navigating and auto pilot etc etc.  This week I started trying to fly IFR plans that I file. Simple ones. To practice letting ATC guide me off the plan into the airport approach and then i lock on to ILS and land.  Here's my questions:  how come when I take off (usually) the ATC tells me to make a turn and resume my own navigation (which I assume means get on my course I set--like turn my nav lock for GPS on to follow my route) yet the heading he tells me to turn to in order to "resume own navigation" is the complete wrong direction to get to that line?  I know ATC is trying to route me and everyone out of the airport and into the sky but how do i then get on my own plan route if i follow his instruction?  Am I crazy?  thanks.

Hmm, I've never experienced that.  Even if it is in the complete wrong direction, when he clears you to resume your own navigation just hit nav and turn towards your course line, it's not a huge deal. I believe I've already addressed the issue of people who have problems with an excellent ATC script in another thread, so I'll leave that be. 

On the subect of IFR, is there any way to re-activate a cancelled IFR flight plan without going back to the beginning?  It gets annoying if you're halfway through a flight, leave the computer for a second and find that you've been cut off.....

But there is a way around it. 

Wait until you've been given your final climb order (up to cruising altitude).  Then, when ATC hands you off, acknowledge, and DON"T contact the next ATC center.  There!  When you're about at descent range, just go ahead and contact ATC.  Works like a charm.