Hi Tmoney,
Keep reading posts again and again and use (abuse!0 the search engine. Am sure most of us on this board started that way. There are some real cool posts going on at present too.
Personally, I started to understand the basics of forks and shocks when I opened the Kayabas of my old KX... Am not sure I can describe the whole thing but let me try this:
Inside each fork tube, you've got a cartridge. It is basically a cylinder, entirely filled with oil, sealed at one end by the base valve (BV) and at the other end by a bushing and the rebound rod. On Kayabas and WPs that I know, the end of the rod outside the cartridge is attached to the fork cap and holds the rebound adjustment screw. The other end of the rod that is inside the cartridge holds a piston, sealed on the cartridge wall. That piston holds on one side the rebound shim stack and on the other side the mid-valve stack (MV). On CR's twin chamber forks, I believe it is the opposite: the rod is attached at the bottom and the cartridge on the fork cap... but the basic principal is the same.
ON COMPRESSION STROKE
The rebound rod slides into the cartridge and oil is forced through the MV stack, generating some damping. Also, as the rod moves in, it displaces oil through the BV assembly, hence generating additional damping. Some oil is also able to by-pass the BV stack through a tiny orifice obstructed by a needle (that is the external compression adjuster).
ON REBOUND STROKE
The rebound rod slides out of the cartridge and oil is forced through the rebound valving stack of the piston (opposite the MV). Some oil is also able to by-pass the piston through its center via a tiny orifice obstructed by a needle (thats your rebound external adjuster).
As the rod slides out of the cartridge, the oil previously displaced on the combression stroke through the BV is sucked back in, through a kind of one-way valve, opposite the BV compression stack.
Note that on the compression stroke, some oil is also by-passing the MV stack through the rebound needle circuit.
...well its enough for now. For those who read through, please correct me if I am wrong! Thanks.