Okay I will (although I'm not sure what I will be looking for).
The other thing I figured might be screwing this up is that I'm using the template in which I have a small "simple" cart on the right column (which also has a checkout button) -- so perhaps it's confusing that with the checkout button on the bottom of the checkout form??
And also - what about my other problem with shipping not being calculated. Is this problem related? I thought the shipping should be in the shopping cart where it shows the tax, etc... So do you think the "simple" cart on my right column might be causing issues with that as well (assuming it was the problem with my first issue, but who knows)

The fact that it tries to process the card right after you fill out the checkout form would explain why shipping isn't working as well, because shipping only shows up on the confirm page and that page is being skipped somehow.
I would look at the trigger used for the local checkout.
