Hey Dave.
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Depends
4. the former
5. No
My advice, after years of solutions and electronic form solutions
especially, is architect it right from the start and skip the learning curve
that most developers and organizations go through. Like most applications,
there are multiple ways to do things and just because it can be done does not
always mean its the way you should do it. I have seen evolved solutions built
all out of a spreadsheet and it kind of works but not very well.
I would recommend you look at the Database Accelerator product at
http://www.qdabra.com
With it you can do everything you need quickly and affordably. You can
contact me directly via the www.infopathdev.com forums if you would like a
demo or have more questions.

Signature
Thanks
Clay Fox
Qdabra Software
http://www.qdabra.com
InfoPathDev.Com
The Largest InfoPath Forum in the World
http://www.infopathdev.com
> I am just getting started with InfoPath and have some basic (I think)
> questions.
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>
> Dave