I can't emphasize enough how worth your while it would be to find someone in your area to set your helicopter up and help you out. Even if you have to drive an hour or 2 it will pay for itself many times over. Also training sticks and a good flight sim are excellent training aids. Check here for a pilot near you
http://www.pilotlocator.net
You don't need REVO even in normal mode with a modern gyro but that being said there's no good reason to use rate mode after you initially trim the gyro.
Remember the following points. Always set HH mode on the tx and turn it on first, then power up the rx and watch the light, dont move the helicopter till it comes on steady. 0 rudder trim and 0 sub trim on the rudder channel in any flight mode, sometimes trim can be setup to follow flight modes, make sure its 0 and stays that way. Easy way to check is set the heli on the ground, powered up with the motor NOT running. The light should come on steady. Move the collective pitch from bottom to top and back (being careful not to move it side to side) and see if the light stays on steady. Flip the idle up switch and see if it stays on then move the throttle up and back.
Read this and verify your setup.
http://www.futaba-rc.com/team/team-tip-002.html
Always set pitch with your pitch curves. You should have no more than 0 pitch at idle, 5 or 6 for hover and 9 on the top. Do not throttle chop if you get it trouble. Ease it down. Re read the first sentence of this post.