Quote Originally Posted by tumbleweed View Post
How many more IO's?

If a larger pic doesn't fit the bill there are SPI/I2C 16-bit IO expanders like the MCP23017 that are infinitely easier to use than having to deal with the hassles of multiple pics and the interface between them. Plus they're cheap as dirt.

Up to 8 expanders can be connected onto a single bus, so that's 8x 16 = 128 addt'l IO pins.

Larger ones are available, but not from microchip.
That's awesome! I didn't know such a thing existed. That will most likely be the best solution. Thanks. I'd still like to know more about the differences between MSSP and EUSART though. I'm just a noob teaching myself this stuff. I've read the datasheet, but they both kinda sound like they do roughly the same thing.