I'm in the first block, but as I click "Save changes and continue" it just bumps me back to this...like I'm forever stuck there. THere is no "publish" and if I go backwards, my changes don't apply.
Regardless of what I do - my changes on this page do not take hold.
It is my "index" which I've named "front page"...
Is Index trickier?
This sounds like you are using one of the Themes in the Website Wizard (Red Wizard). When you are editing a page, you should be presented with several areas that are labeled "Edit Content Block X". When you select a Content Block, make your changes, and then click the "Save changes and continue" button, you should be brought back so you can select another Content Block.
At the top right, you should see a "Preview This Page" button and at the bottom there should be a "Done Editing This Page Button". The meaning of them is obvious. Nothing is actually written to your web site until you click on the "Done Editing This Page Button" and then click on the "Publish Website", button at the very bottom of the "Manage Your Pages and Services" page.
And, you can name your front page anything you want, but the Website Wizard is still going to save it as "index.html". The name that you assign to it is only used for the label in the navigation bar. For the rest of your pages, the name on your web site will closely resemble the name you assign from the Website Wizard. Out of necessity, the Website Wizard will replace spaces and other funny characters. And again, the name you assign will be used for the label in the navigation bar.
You need to be careful about terminology as "Front Page" is a major software program from Microsoft. I was about to give a totally different reply assuming that you were using that product to create your site.
