[Liz Smith]

I basically hasd the same skills as you, a lot of mechanical knowledge but no programming knowledge. I am currently taking an entry level programming course (in java) and really all we learned are the basics (arrays, loops, ifs etc.). Right now? I wouldn't really know how to program a robot. What we learned wasn't based on that. You seem to have specific things you want to be able to do.

My suggestion is that even thought you want to be self-sufficient, you should start out working with someone else, perhaps someone on your team. They should have knowledge that may be more specific to your needs. That way, you'll learn what you want to learn and won't be stuck in a class that isn't relevent to your what you want to accomplish with code.