Glass is more important than anything. Buy the fanciest camera in the world, put a crappy lens on it and you'll get crappy pictures. If I was starting out on a limited budget, I'd buy a used manual Nikon or Canon SLR (and NO other brand - Nikon and Canon are the only options without trapping yourself in a limited system with no escape) and the best fixed focal length lenses I could afford.
The low-end Canon digital SLRs are very nice, but still over $1500. Me, I'm waiting until I can afford a D1x before I move to digital.
So shoot film, and lots and lots and lots of film. Shoot b&w because it's cheaper, and it trains you to see better. You have to think in terms of tone and light. Learn about composition, understand that its way better to crop in the camera than to crop in the darkroom, so shoot tight, and fill your frames. Learn about the rule of thirds - but don't assume that it's always right. Sometimes, dead center is the best shot.
Every roll you shoot, critique it yourself. What went wrong? Why is the composition unappealing? Books, and the work of the masters can help, but it's your own eye that you have to train. Tricks and techniques are useful, but you can't rely on them.
Look at
www.photo.net - nice tutorials on that site. Also consider evening classes, good for the technical aspects, and great to have other, more experienced folks look at your work.
Have fun. Shoot film.
Neil