I have all of 97 already unlocked. if you come to the meet, we can give you an idea of what it is etc.

I own DHP and HPT. I personally find HPT much easier to use.

-HPT has the code names next to the codes when you look at DTC's or disable them, DHP does not and therefore you must look them up or know them off your head.
-HPT has a great scanning tool, DHP ...you go get UVScan and use that.
-HPT has many histograms (logs of data based on certain parameters) that you can paste partially, fully etc into your bin file to alter the tables, DHP does not.
-DHP was more common back in the day, for a lot of the stuff, you get Eddies table modifier and use that in conjunction with DHP to get near the same as the HPT histograms.
-Tinytuner is a DHP type add on that you can use with bins and HPT or DHP to make even further changes to things.
-HPT is still current and has some level of support, however our V6 3800 platform is aging and getting less attention. DHP went out of business.. only support are the guys on Powrtuner forum that use it.
-DHP gave out wide open no credits needed software when he went out of business, HPT is a buy as you go once you use the 8 supplied credits.
-HPT supports many more cars than just GM V6's from 96-05.
-Many more things

As you can see..there are pro's and cons to both of the tuners I am mentioning. Personally I don't care for DHP it feels old and clunky with other excel files and programs that give it a more robust functionality. HPT comes fairly well packed with features that are easy to use in a nice looking windows view.

I bought when I started heading into mods. Didn't know a damn thing about tuning, other than what I had read/heard. I'm a very upfront and honest person about breaking stuff and learning lessons etc. Tuning does not make sense if you buy the tuner and look at the screen. It took me some time working with it and reading the posts that pop up each day to begin understanding things and how they work.

Step 1: Know that you can't see every table there is in the pcm. So sometimes when you try something and don't get the results, it's caused by another table. Now you need to take time and see if it's a table you can or can't see. Like if you try and figure out why you are getting 17 degrees of timing when you put 10 into the main spark table. That's because there are adder tables, some are coolant temp, some are air temp.. and some..we might not be able to see.

Step 2: Keep an open mind. One friend may walk you through how to tune and you understand it. Someone else may suggest tuning in another whole way. There's 50 different ways to achieve a goal. Some methods work better on certain cars and some don't. Keeping the open mind will have you able to take step back and understand why someone took a different approach. I know seasoned tuners that change approaches just to try it out.

Step 3: You have a 97, that negative timing number is normal. Create a pid (custom parameter that takes timing and multiplies it * -1) and you'll be looking at things the way the rest of the years do.

When buying.. Here's the difference between pro and standard.
1. Pro allows for additional inputs like wideband, exhaust temp, intake manifold temp, post rotor temp etc. All things you can easily add if you start down the big build route. On standard you'd need to disable your EGR or AC and run your signal into those wires, then create custom pids etc. It's possible, but a pain.
2. Pro allows you to log data without a laptop in the car. Say you are in a bad area and want to log data for some reason when you aren't actively tuning or don't want the laptop with you. Standard can not do that, laptop is required.