Will I lose my contacts? (not a big deal, i am still not done bringing them over from my BB)
You don't have to. There are two ways that contacts are stored on the stock Eris - Google contacts and phone contacts (well, if you set up Facebook sync there are also Facebook contacts.) While it should be obvious based on their names, Google contacts are synced to the Google account that you used to set up the phone, while phone contacts are not synced. If you wipe the phone, you will wipe the phone contacts.
However, they can be backed up to SD card, though I think that the best way to handle it is to use UiA Backup Contacts to backup the contacts to SD in a .csv file, and then import those into your Google account for syncing with the phone. That way, if you wipe the phone, buy another, install a new ROM, etc., your contacts will simply repopulate the phone at first sync.
UiA - Backup Contacts - Android app on AppBrain
ok since it is already rooted, and there was no sd card in it when it was given to me, how do i go about starting the root process? Is it just as simple as installing it on the root of my sd card and then holding down the volume button on power up?
Yes, except you press and hold Vol Up to start recovery while powering up, rather than Vol Dn.
The best thing to do is to follow the instructions on
this thread, starting with the post linked here. It explains what you should do, with illustrations. Basically, though:
- copy new ROM to SD card
- shut down phone
- restart phone in Recovery by pressing Vol UP while powering up the phone
- Nandroid backup when you have now
- Wipe data/factory reset from the wipe menu
- Flash the new ROM
- restart the phone
