Definately grab the BASIC stamp software, but don't worry about reading the whole manual. In fact, the vast majority of it is absolutely useless for the FIRST robots! What you need to know:
if...then...
goto
=
VAR
Optional:
branch
lookup/down
put/get
run
read/write
Far and away the most helpful thing is to read throught the default code until you understand it (I've attached it to this post). After you read through that, try modifying it and running it through
RoboEmu (PBASIC emulator for Windows and Linux) and see what happens.
As always, if you run into problems or need help with anything, go ahead and post what you are trying to do along with the code you are having problems with and somebody should get back to you within a few hours.
--Rob