problems configuring xemacs for rails on ubuntu

[snack]

i set out to install emacs for ruby/rails. after poking around a bit,
i
came up with the following packages of emacs add-ons (which either
seemed
helpful in and of themselves, or were depended on by other helpful
bits.):

  ecb (code browser)
  ruby-elisp (ruby-mode etc)
  emacs-rails (rails minor mode ect)
  mmm (multiple major mode)
  snippets
  find-recursive

this is all pretty much new territory for me, including the linux box
on
which i'm experimenting. on the other hand, i don't mind getting my
hands
dirty (that's sort of the point, at least as far as i am able). the
above
list was gleaned from five or six different websites/blogs, and each
has its
own prescription for appropriate additions to my .emacs -- so i'm
having to
sort of collage all these authors imput together. i think i've
integrated
most of the suggestions that came with these packages, and i'm
smoothed out
various issues such as:
  * moved all lisp into ~/.elisp/ (probably not necessary, but it
    seemed it couldn't hurt...)
  * enumerated subdirs in the load-path with ~/.elisp/subdirs.el
  * expanded pathnames in my home directory to make them xemacs
compliant
    ie,     (add-to-list 'load-path (expand-file-name "~/.elisp"))

in other words i've caught everything that leaped out at me. but i
still get
emacs telling me that it can't find things. currently it give this
message:


        File error: Cannot open load file, mmm-compat
        run-hooks: Cannot open load file: semantic-el


if i run emacs with the --debug-init flag, i get this:


        Debugger entered--Lisp error: (file-error "Cannot open load file"
"mmm-compat")
          require(mmm-compat)
          byte-code("ÀÁ!!!!!!!!!‡" [require cl font-lock mmm-compat mmm-utils
mmm-vars mmm-auto mmm-region mmm-class mmm-univ] 2)
          load("/home/matokie/.elisp/site-lisp/mmm-mode/mmm-mode.elc" nil nil
t)
          load-file("/home/matokie/.elisp/site-lisp/mmm-mode/mmm-mode.elc")
          eval-buffer(#<buffer  *load*> nil "/home/matokie/.emacs" nil t)  ;
Reading at buffer position 703
          load-with-code-conversion("/home/matokie/.emacs" "/home/
matokie/.emacs" t t)
          load("~/.emacs" t t)
          #[nil "พ


up to this point, i could always add an explicit load-file for
whatever was
missing, and it emacs would then tell me the next missing thing. ie,
        (load-file (expand-file-name
          "~/.elisp/site-lisp/mmm-mode/mmm-compat.elc"))
Unfortunately, it seems i've reached a dead end, as this tactic won't
work
for mmm-compat, and i don't really understand the run-hooks error.





i hope i don't sound like too much of a neophyte for anyone to even
bother
with -- i'd really appreciate any input or tactics that anyone could
suggest.

thanks,


josh