I'm still super-new to Android (~1 month). I'm easing my way into this
I'm still learning all I can about the mod/hack methods before I make any big changes.
Update on the z4root: I just got it to work on my Fascinate. I disabled (not just killed) Lookout App virus scanner, and used a task manager to kill all running apps, then immediately ran z4root. The process completed successfully in about a minute. Thanks to the author of post #38 on an XDA forum (I'd post a link, but I don't know the etiquette of linking to another forum from this one).