D.C.,
you've taken an important step in learning about electrics --- ASK! I'm self-taught about e-power (I did have 25 years of wet-power experience) and I'm about as far from an engineeer as you can get.
Your understanding of the numbers for a prop are correct: an 8/4 prop is 8 inches in diameter and has a pitch of 4 inches. Pitch is the theoretical distance the prop would move forward in an ideal fluid under ideal conditions.
Most of the motor numbers don't mean much. I recommend that you go to
[email protected], this is the Ampeer newsletter site. It is one of the best e-power resources around. There is an archive of articles all of which are excellent. Ken Myers recently did one on how to choose a motor. I'm reproducing it in our wet-power club newsletter for which I write an e-power column.
I think you might also do well to invest in one of the performance calculator programs (Motorcalc; E-calc) or go to the Diversity model aircraft site which has a free online calculator.
If the urls I gave are incorrect, just do a Google.
Hope all this helps advance you in e-power and keeps you interested. E-power saved the hobby for me(-:
Walt