Serial communications CNC

I am in the process of retrofiting
a Bridgeport Series2 with Galil controls
for the company I work for. 4 axis and VFD
spindle speed control. No Problems yet.

For myself I would like a homebrew system
I looked at the JRKerr chipsets to build a 4 axis system
and tried to find a software CNC controller that will work with them.

I am good at assembling a combination of parts to make something work.
but I have no programming experience
Because of this the JRKerr chipsets maybe out of the question.

I was hoping for true simultaneous control ,and encoder feedback
I am looking into Linux EMC and the Servo to Go controller now.
Is this the closest that I can get to what I want?

I kind a wanted to build the whole system down to the circuit
boards and chips for a true hobby system ,but it may not be possible.

Has anybody used EMC with JR Kerr chipsets??
lots of programming to make this work?

Can a parallel port controlled system have true encoder feedback
to the computer?

Any suggestions or solutions appreciated,

Tim Domes
Ft Lauderdale