but now when i go through the driver's installation process, up pops the "printer selection" window and there are no printers available for choosing. the help window just said that i should make sure ther printer is on and that it's plugged in well -- thanks help. The buttons available are "add remote" and "use shared," but the Dell 720 is directly plugged into my Mac via USB. Any thoughts???

The Dell 720 and most Dell printers only work with Win 2000 and XP. The are no MAC drivers that work with your printer. If you can get it to work with a Mac please let the forum know, because it will be a first.