Thanks for the input

I think something is missing as well.. I just cant place my finger on it.

The 595 keeps the Vf of 12Vdc needed to drive the led's away from the PIC, grounding the cathodes also keep the amps away.

I was thinking of using a SINGLE 595 to drive all the segments from pic port C and drive the cathode from port D but I'm not sure how to isolate the 12Vdc using that layout.

Not sure if I'd need a 2803 or another 595 to protect the cathode end of things, but if I did, I'm not sure of how that would lay out in the schem.

Cheers

Steve