Start with the Coral Sea scenario - basically all the orders are set for a couple of days and you can see how it plays out - and if you have any questions, just ask and I'll answer them as much as I can! I"m sure there will be a TON of questions... but as far as working the Jap industry, I'm not so hip on that subject.
The smaller scenarios don't have production modelled, so that'll be easier how to figure out how to make your task forces go from point A to point B and do something along the way.
Start small. If you can figure out how to make a tf go from a to b, stay at b, launch an airstrike, and return to base... that goes a long way!
I can help out with a bunch of the "tweaks" like - how come my cap doesn't intercept - (well, what's their fatigue, field damage, morale, altitude, experience, etc.) - how come my bombers don't attack (do they have escorts against a CAPped base - were they on naval or airfield/port/grnd attack) etc.
It is a very expansive game - and does take a lot of time to figure "everything" out - but once you do, I've found that WITP peggs the needle on "hours played versus dollars spend". It rivals SFC and NWN