I think you are correct (about how to do 8N2) except the hardware UARTs are "true" meaning they idle high - therefore the stop bits need to be high. Using software, you can run true (idle high) or invereted (idle low) using serin, serout, etc.

also see this thread for a semi-related discussion

http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=1749