Fedora Installation :: Upgrading To FC12 - Access Port 631 Through Firefox Wouldn't Open

I only began using Linux with the release of FC8. I've upgraded into every new version (upgrade, no clean installs), after the new versions had been out a while. I struggle with command lines, updates, cups and other very cool tools that are only difficult because they have so many options. I'm Windows guy at work, a system admin and db administrator, plus the company expert on Excel. But, all in all, I hate Windows, and I'm loving Fedora, even if I struggle.

This last upgrade really kicked me in the pants. The first thing I noticed was all of my software sources were gone. I did some research around the forum and tried a few things, but it's still not working. Unfortunately, I may have uninstalled Yum in the process, but not rpm. I've tried to re-install the yum packages, but still no luck.

This morning before leaving for work I noticed that a boot log indicated that cups had failed. I went in to restart the service (through gui) and it said it was running. So I stopped the service and re-started. I tried to access port 631 through Firefox and it wouldn't open. I need to check the firewall to see if it's an open port, but beyond that I don't know.

Now I'm wondering if I should just do a clean install. I haven't done this, mainly because I didn't want to hassle with setting up my printer again (although, it's a Brother and they have the drivers and good instructions), and I didn't want to lose any emails that I've received via Thunderbird. The printer is really a non-issue now, as I'll have to set it up anyway. I have a backup of the /usr folder and all the documents. Question is, if I restore the Thunderbird folder after a clean install, would it bring back my email?