Hey Troy,
Just thought I'd throw in my two cents. I did learn to fly without an instructor, I purchased realflight G2 and worked on it for quite awhile, changing out different planes and also playing with the wind, etc. The plane I learned on was an Avistar, just starting slowly on calm days. It worked out well for me. No matter how much you read about what you are going to do, you just need to move those sticks and see what happens. I haven't seen the FMS sim, it may be just as good. I do think a sim is the way to go, though, if you don't have access to an instructor. I am moving closer to a club in a couple months, so I get to learn all over again, and hopefully correct bad habits!!
Best of luck