> I've not used the I2C module yet, however, it was my understanding
> that much of I2C is contained within the hardware.

Very true. MSSP is a complex module, more so than the UART, which
is why it has so many registers and flags associated with it. The
operation is analogous to the UART though, with data being transmitted
and received through buffers, but the I2C bus is more "active" than the
UART, so to speak, with two-way traffic even if data flow is generally
one-way and it's that firmware interaction that needs to be considered
and accounted for in the coding. Or hopefully in a simple implementation
much of it can be ignored

>  If it's only a 2 device bus, it should be easy to get everything
> working.

"should be easy" - a phrase, along with "all you have to do is",
that should be consigned to the darkest depths of Hades

> I recommend reading up on I2C, which you can do at the
> Philips website (grab the I2C spec from their buses section).  I
> expect someone else will give you more useful information

I'm reasonably comfortable with I2C, it's simply Ignorance of the
16F877's I2C module that's today's headache

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