[laithis]

Thanks RdBrd and rstoyguy!
[BTW - sorry for that long post... Didn't know how else to explain my confusion!]

I think I know what got me off track - it was a comment DennyG said about extracting the cabs from xda dev and replacing all the files in the PPCkitchen_OEM with those files.

So if I understand correctly, you're supposed to customize your own ROM by messing with the USER_OEM folder - and nothing else (unless you reeeally know what you're doing!).

Which means, if I apply that to the 3 examples I used..

1) The version 19 folder I downloaded from XDA which had all cabs in it: I would just put the entire folder as-is inside the USER_OEM folder [or should I un-cab each item first?]

2) Unzip Maxx's "zzzzzSuperMegaManilapackVers19" folder and move the folder into USER_OEM

3) Don't mess with the PPCkitchen_OEM.rar inside the Kitchens folder. Period.

I think what threw me was when DennyG said he'd extracted the cabs from xda dev and replaced all the files "in the PPCkitchen_OEM" with them. He must have been using shorthand to refer to the USER_OEM folder and I just misunderstood.

Did I get it right?