I cannot seem to make MySQL to work at all
Yeah, I know what you mean; I have MySQL and it is a very complex program to learn. The manual is at least 1000+ pages and takes a some time to sit there and read it. If you're like me, I like things to work NOW, and see the results Impatience is not a virtue on my part...

The board I have used in the past was not PHP but ASP scripts that could use MySQL. It was called Snitz Forums 2000 and is quite neat; however, it sucks compared to this board. Anyway, you can get a copy of Snitz here: http://forum.snitz.com and it open source.

Good Luck!