Many thanks for the reply!
I have since discovered "processor expert". this is a brilliant tool for n00bs like me; you click what you want and it automatically generates the code.
Say I want a timer that triggers an interrupt every 2 microseconds... I click on timers, look down the list until I find the one that generates interrupts, double-click to create one, fiddle the properties to set the interval to 2us, update the project, and lo and behold it has generated a some nicely commented code that does exactly this.
same story for UART, pinIO, CPUspeed, ...
I have to say I am surprised that processor expert is not accessible with the free version of the software. it is exactly what a beginner needs to get started. surely freescale want to encourage beginners to use their kit???