I was also dismayed at the complexity of the setup. Once you get over that hill, however, I haven't had too many problems.
If you're not familiar with C++ (or if you are but are unfamiliar with object-oriented programming), I'd check out a tutorial like
www.learncpp.com. I remember had a bit of trouble wrapping my head around the new system at first. If you want to code more procedurally, WPI is developing a C-style wrapper for WPILib, which I don't believe is out yet.
Another great help is the
C/C++ Programming Reference. And to echo Dave, a lot of us on CD are all pushing through this together, so here is a great place to post questions.