I'm also a lefty wh plays righty. Just pick one up and play G-C-D (The basic structure of sooooo many songs) and you should be able to figure out what you are. Yeah it's going to be easier to find stuff for a righty, but you gotta go with what feel comfortable.

As for what to buy, I think that is totally a personal experience. Some people can just order somwthing off E-bay for $50 and it will sound good to them and they will want to play with it. I like to really look at a guitar and all the grain, neck etc before I am really going to feel like I want it. I ordered, blindly, a Gibson Les Paul once and hated one piece of the grain. Hated looking at it and ultimately sold it. I'm sure the dude that bought it thought it was awesome, but to me I just didn't have the confidence holding it and playing it.

As for electric or acoustic. What do you want to play? I like playing in blues jams, country honks and rockin' bars. I can't stand the sound of boring strummed acoustic. So that is my opinion and what I do. You are totally different. Camfires...acoustic. Bars...Electric.

Good site here:
http://www.looknohands.com/chordhous.../index_rb.html


Guitars
-Fender Stratocaster custom wound Custom Shop pick-ups re-wired - Standard tune & Open G
-Fender Tele custom humbucker in the neck - Open G and E-B-E-G#-B-E (for only one song)

Amp
Fender Blues DeVille - Custom Tubes and Speakers

Pedals
Analogman - TS-9
Line 6 - Pod
Crybaby Wha with custom pot