I'll be honest. I know next to nothing about welding. I bought a small lincoln flux core welder and have goofed around with it a little making horrible horrible welds that break apart lol.

I've been thinking of taking a course in the spring at the local tech college.

here's what they offer overall:
http://www.tridenttech.edu/5631.htm

here's the stand-alone courses they offer to people:
http://www.tridenttech.edu/ce_21314.htm

I'm pretty sure I want to do the stand-alone type course but not sure which one to take FIRST, to get good groundwork with this stuff?

also, the little machine I have can be used for flux core but also has the ability to hook an argon tank up (it came with all the gauges/lines, etc). I just dont know which way to start into this stuff is all.

 

Taking a course is obviously a good option. Till you get in class, practice practice practice.
If you don't already have a auto-dark hood, get that. It'll help start the weld.
Get scraps of different thickness and try different settings on your machine till you get a good feeling about what you do. Once you start feeling confident, make small projects that are not life threatning if the weld fails. Then your class are gonna start.

At first, don't practice on stock that is very thin, you're just gonna blow through it and it's going to be very frustrating. I know your machine can't handle the heavy duty stuff, but still. Practice with something thicker than thinner. Look at the specs of your machine and see what it can handle. Aim for the middle at first. Once you're confident with that stock, you can start lowering your settings for thinner stock, or start upping the settings for thicker.

Check youtube. There are some very interesting videos that show basic welding tips to get you started.


I think flux is just fine for starters. It gives you one less thing to worry about when setting your machine.
FWIW, I'm just a hobyist with a small flux Lincoln machine just like you. My only experience is 2 spools(2lbs) worth of flux wire and some sticks.