Right on...that's what I was looking for, thanks for that. I like the slider effect, but I like to use it for content with links, rather then just for pictures and posts. I guess what I'm looking for is to be able to use it for featured content, but with an emphasis on Wordpress as a CMS rather than a blogging platform. There many premium themes out there now that utilize the sliders...but many have more options as to what can be put into the slider. There is a good tutorial here:
http://jqueryfordesigners.com/coda-slider-effect/, but it does not explain how to do this in Wordpress. I'll keep messing with plugins and jquery to see what else I can come up with. thanks again.