Mikal, I’d seriously suggest you wipe and start over. Also if you have a Commercial or Personal version, you can get support from the EllisLab support team.
i will try another post again as this one has lots of stuff and may look resolved. Surly someone has the site preview with - The system does not appear to be installed.
Just to clarify the support issues. Here is our support policy.
You are entitled to assistance with the site using the full version of ExpressionEngine since you do own a license; however, since this particular site is using EECore, only community support is available.