saxonhawthorn I think you are in for a long long learning path as you have not yet arrived at the foot of the cliff.
My cnc conversion has almost been finished and now I am onto the software and that is just as hard as the mechanical side of things, there is just so much to learn.
The information on the subject is a bit thin on the ground and harder still i dont know what to look for in the books etc.
I like you like to do evrything but when I looked into the making of the stepper drivers I balked and bought a box already made so I could concentrate on my mill and oh boy was that a baptism of fire. The only machining I had done was the odd hobby done whilst at work but now I have to buy the tools myself and there are so many! and possibly more I havn't heard of yet.

Peter