Hi Patrick

Glad I've got you going.
As regards to the MAX232, you will only need this if you are connecting your PIC to a computer RS232 port or a USB to RS232 serial converter. A much easier solution is to get a USB to UART TTL converter. You can connect these direct to the PIC - Tx pin to Rx pin - the one device transmits the signal out, the other receives the signal in. I can recommend the one sold on ebay by "eachdesk" made by "BAITE". Type in item 110760144325 should find it.

They make a very good bootloader that works with the MicroCode Studio Bootloader. If you cut the track from the RST pin so it no longer connects to the CP2102 chip and instead connect the RST pin to the DTR connection (J3 pin 1), it will also do an automatic reset. This is easy as the track passes close to the DTR connection.

At £1.78 each with free shipping they are cheap enough to build into your projects.

Phil