>I just don't
>know the new lands, eq, and in general the skills/pro and
>cons. Basically, in the beginning i may seen like a total
>idiot - like telling people I'm on my way to balator ..but it
>takes me an entire day to get there cuz im' finding my way
>...

It sounds to me like what you need is to roll up an exploration character. A lot of people do this, and it would likely help you quite a bit. IMHO, an assassin is functional for the bread and butter exploration you need to do (as well as being just a good class to play in general) of the core lands. Other stuff can most assuredly come later.

>So the question is this: How would you react to a player who
>rp's but doesn't quite yet know the layout/lands/eq of the
>mud. If I need to 'know everything' before i start gaining
>favor of the IMMs (cabals/empowerment/etc)then i may not play.

You don't. Most religions focus on RP'd personality. Only a few concern themselves with area knowledge. I can't think of any empowerment issues that concern themselves with exploration.
Cabals generally matter insofar as ... do you know how to get to your cabal home and the cabals of the enemies? I don't think you'll have a tough time with this.

RP is what matters. PK skill is secondary, and I think you'll be fine with that anyway. There are many new things to learn concerning skills, spells, and tactics, but I'm sure you'll pick it up. We're a much better mud now than we were back in the day, too