> one area of functionality has me befuddled > - using object methods to handle events.
To continue Karl's point, if you use jQuery the same way you would use prototype then you'll be fighting it all the way. The prototype solution squirrels away references to the DOM objects in the class and then points event handlers back to the class. jQuery usually encapsulates the data and events within the DOM element or a closure, e.g.: $("selector") .data("options", {answer: 42}) .click(function(){ alert($(this).data("options").answer) });