EMC, Geckos and Sherline

Sorry if this has been discussed, I searched and couldn't find it...

I have been running a sherline with geckos and CNCPro for some time,
but I recently decided to switch to EMC. I know my way around linux a
bit and have successfully installed the BDI on an Intel i810/450 Mhz.
Now I just cant figure out how to configure the parallel port
properly for the stepper motors. I have read as much documentation as
I can find, and short of diving into the code just yet, I was
wondering if someone could help. A couple of questions:

1. Is the emc.ini file where all the configuration information is
stored? I cant find steps/inch, and direction polarity and such, so
it cant be.

2. Do I have to use the bit order typically used in EMC?

3. What do I need to implement encoder feedback?

4. What mode should the parallel port be in?
and finally:

5. If you have a similar configuration, could you email me your
configuration files?

Thanks in advance

tim