Streydog,
That can be a tough one. I know some dive shops can almost have a "hazing" atmosphere to new people. I once witnessed a guy who had questions pretty much get run out of a dive shop and in so many words was called an idiot. I was waiting around to get an air fill and couldn't believe what I was seeing. The old crusty guy hasen't worked at the shop in years, but my point is I know how they can be sometimes. It's almost like they expect you to be "in the know" otherwise you're just wasting their time.
My best advice is to rent for a whikle and also dive with as many people as you can. Join a dive club or dive with a group if there are any around you.
Don't be too hasty about buying gear right away. There are many differnt ways to go and many alternatives. IMO, a dive shop really needs to earn your trust and not just sell you a bunch of stuff that makes them the most money. You'll end up overspending on a bunch of overpriced gear that may not even be what you end up with in the long run.
Hanging out here on SB is a good start.
There are a lot of folks who can inform you on the "inside" of scuba, what is hot, what is not, what the alternative is to what the dive shop want's you to believe.
There are a lot of do it yourselfers here that demystify regulators and service for instance, and ,any here that can give you the low down on the current trends of BC's that you will not learn at your dive shop. This is a parallel universe to the dive shop. You will read stuff here that scares the crap out of dive shops with info they don't want you to know.
Take care.