Just keep asking questions. There's always someone willing to help you out. I'll try to answer a couple of them. How long has it been since you last cleaned the filter, or even backwashed it? If it's been a while, it might be a good idea to do it now while you wait for the water to fill back up. Take it apart and hose off all the grids, and then re-install everything so it's ready for the DE when you get your pump turned on. For the DE, it's best to mix the powder in a bucket with water and stir it before adding it directly to the skimmer slowly. It will coat the grids evenly this way.
When you're ready to turn on the equipment, you'll have to prime the pump first. Make sure the water level is above the skimmer line so the pump doesn't draw air when you turn it on. To prime the pump, simply open the pump lid and fill it with water from a bucket fast. Close the lid, lock it down, and start the pump. Make sure you have your filter air bleeder valve open when you do, so the air will escape out of the filter. Once water starts to come out of the air valve, close it all the way.
The optimum CYA really depends on your conditions. Do you get a lot of organics falling in the water? Leaves, debris? What's the weather like where you are? If it's generally very hot during the summer, I'd go with a CYA of 50. If you go with 30, you probably won't make it through the day without your FC dropping below your required minimum. With CYA of 30, you FC only needs to be in the 4-6 range and never below 2. However, the sun will burn it off quicker than if you keep your CYA at 50. I'm in San Jose and it's very hot here. I keep my CYA at 50 year round. Although I have to maintain FC of 6-8 PPM and never below 4, the chlorine seems to burn off more slowly. This way it gives me a little leeway in case I can't get to it that day or if something comes up. I wouldn't go above 50 though.
There's general rules in pool school and a lot of those other articles, but the best way to learn this stuff is to monitor your pool closely, at least at first, until you get a feel for how everything works. It will become 2nd nature after a while as long as you maintain the FC/CYA relationship. That's the key to TFPC in my opinion. Just about everything else can be fixed quite easily if you maintain the proper FC to CYA in your pool. That's why liquid chlorine is so important. Once you get your CYA to where you want it, it won't go any higher without you adding any of those solid forms of chlorine. (tablets, powdered shocks, granules)