Another question. Is it okay to program the ESC even though I do not have a sensor wire yet?

yes, the esc will run with or without a sensor wire. It just does it a little better with the wire.

Okay thanks! I should have picked one up when I went to the LHS to get some deans connectors. I guess I'll just order some from amain...I mean I may need new tranny gears anyway...its making a loud clicking noise back there.

I just tested the new setup. Its great! But it does seem like the motor kind of skips around. For example, at one throttle point it will go slow, then I'll move the throttle to a different point slowly and it'll jump in RPMs. Will the sensor wire smoothen this out?

Yes. It will smooth it out.

Okay thank you! That sounds good then.