Total Newbie...

[Archangel]

I would rather not hack the board up at this point....

If I could get this all striaght in my haed I know I can get the LDC display working...

Lookint at the expander datasheet and the demo board schematic it looks like LCD Data Lines (DB0B7) are connected to the GPIO lines (GPB0:GPB7). LCD RD is on GPA7 and LCD E is on GPA6.

The Pic is connected to the expander like this:
PIC Expander
RC3 --> SCK
RC5 --> SI
RF6 --> Reset

Knowing that How do I cammand the expander to do what I want it to do?

Thanks for all you help so far... it has been GREAT!!

I wouldn't hack it up, I would set it aside until you catch up to it, You will have a much easier time learning if you use an PIC with a simpler architecture like 16F648A. I like that one because it is simple but not useless, nothing tough to get going and has 4k space. You can get an LCD for about $10 from this vendor. http://cgi.ebay.com/20x4-LCD-Module-...QQcmdZViewItem
I buy from him pretty regularly.

[Patrick Pending]

I would forget about the on-board LCD for the time being and get some experience using one wired in parallel (which is well documented). When you have that knowledge under your belt then think about tackling the on-board one.

PICs offer so many functions and possibilities It is tempting to try to take on to much at once. If you do, you are likely to be frustrated and spend a lot of time getting nowhere. However, take everything one step at a time and you will progress rapidly.

Best of luck,