It turns out that I had my switch set up wrong. At first I had it affecting the switch after the 1/2" of travel after the tip would hit the surface. I switched it so that it trips the switch immediately after touching the surface. I think that i have it working now.
Brian Baudier, to answer your question:
I have not figured out how to manually jog up or down while cutting a part but the THC does allow you to move up and down by adjusting the knobs associated with the voltage sensing on the THC 300's panel. I have just got mine running for the first time and it seems to work great. I think that it will take a little time to tweak every thing so that it cuts perfectly. As far as time hooking it up, it took me about a day or day and half to install my sensor in the plasma unit and figure out problems. The biggest problem is that I had some key questions after reading over the documentation. Fortunately, everyone that I have asked questions from are extremely helpful. After going through the experience of hooking it up, I feel that I may be of help to anyone who may have questions. Feel free to ask me some specifics when you are ready to install yours.
Eliot Irwin