Today 20:52
breogan, You only need

MCLR/Vpp
RB6/PGC
RB7/PGD

to flash a program into any pic using high voltage programming (+12 volts) on the Vpp line. Now if you are planning on programming it using low voltage programming then you need:

MCLR/Vpp
RB3/PGM
RB6/PGC
RB7/PGD

If you plan on using a boot loader then you need to use 1 of the first 2 options loading a bootloader hex file into the pic (if it supports bootloading). Then all you need to do is connect the RX/TX lines from the PIC thru an inverter such as a Max-232 to your pc's comm port to load your application software from that point on. I perfer to use the bootloader method of loading the application code myself.

Dave Purola,
N8NTA