Yeah, just go with the SRDs. You don't really need to buy the books these days, unless you prefer a hard copy.
"So before I move forward to make a final yes or no does it sound as if I am qualified?"
Certainly.
"If so are there any slots open..."
Honestly, we lose players all the time... There is always a seat for new players!
"...and how would the character creation work, i.e. starting level, money, and any other adjustments to keep with the current party?"
We are currenly at level 6. The PHB (I think) contains a chart of starting gold based on level, which you can exchange for items. We don't keep too careful track of individual experience (at least, I don't), but rather just all level up at the same time when Randall tells us it is time.
We use a point buy system instead of silly dice rolls for statistics. I've got a table up on the site:
http://dnd.spaceempires.net/start.php
The characters we have are Narf as a wizard, Douglas as a Psion, ZeroAdunn as a... something with a bunch of nature skill, perhaps a ranger (he just joined recently), and myself as a fighter.