Brian, are you sort of CAD literate?
I found that really screwed me up. I've had to forget nearly everything I ever learned about AutoCAD.
Today, however I discovered something really cool. Go to View, Toolbars, and click on View. You get 6 little views of a house. Click on the view of your daring that you want, iso, top, front, right, back, or left. That sure cleared up the orbit thing for me. I still orbit but now not so much. A quick click and I get to something I recognize.
I started a crib sheet on how to set up and use Sketch-up for woodworking. If you have some drafting experience, that might be helpful. I'll see if I can find it for you.
Also, Dave Richards did some tutorials for Fine Woodworking. Might go to that site and see what you can find.
Tell me where you are having a problem. I think I can get you to 'dummy' status. Start with downloading Sketch-Up and go from there.