So, here's the plan....
I have the g540 coming today. I will ...
convert all the motor connections to 9 pin connectors.
figure out which limiting resistors to use
purchase a mach4 hobbyist license
install the Darwin driver
hook up the parallel cable between my computer and the g540
plug in the motors
learn how to setup and use the software.
Is there anything else I need to get started? I plan to get a pendent, better spindle and spindle controller at some point, but right now I just need to get this project working.