Hi Donna,

Actually you are ahead of the game, most knitters don't memorize the pattern until they get to the first armhole.  So pat yourself on the back :)

The slipping rule is always slip purl wise unless specified otherwise.  There are some stitches like ssk or skpo where if you look them up in a stitch dictionary they tell you to slip them knit wise, but if it doesn't say slip it purl wise :)