Legmaker, some of the people on this board (including the other drummer, even though, as a drummer, he can't hear anything) are very competent with issues of audio setup. I'm willing to bet that you could save yourself some expense by setting audio levels yourself, with help or confirmation as needed, which would also be a good way to get back in the saddle and attack the learning curve. If you can get your ears, brain, and body to do the job, and realize that it's not so forbidding as you may have thought, you won't always be at a loss about how to troubleshoot the system yourself.

So far as video is concerned, we can easily help you to manage the plasma's connections and colors. Then you could have the option of getting a test disk (AVIA or DVE) to finetune the picture further or even get an ISF technician to take it the extra mile that you can't run yourself (greyscale and color temperature) if you're so inclined (and flush).

Also, I don't know which stores are involved, but a significant purchase like the one that you are about to make should entitle you to a question or two. It shouldn't be any skin off their back to answer you, and most mid- to high-fi dealers know that relationship with their customers is their strong suit. But I'm sure that once you have everything out of the box, wired, and in place (at least provisionally), you will be more than equipped to take care of everything else--and help will just be fingertips away when you need it. I'll bet many of the people here will agree with me that setup is not only a great way to learn about audio/video, but it's also a gas. You are going to be one happy camper.

Ed