Let me start off by saying you do seem to have a very nice game plan laid out
Thanks

I really need to do my research before taking something like this on. It's not worth doing unless done correctly.
Yes, submit to resource sites, ask for webmaster page link trades, post on the boards & beg & plead for people to submit to you
Beg and plead? Is it really that hard to get submits? I considered paying for submits in an effort to get freesites submitted and kick start me.
Properly run Link Lists are very time consuming. Doing reviews & listing sites is just 1/2 the battle - you also have to police the sites you have listed, keep up with banners/ads on the pages, keep track of trades, etc. I would honestly say that you're looking at a year, maybe more, before you become a force in the Link List market (which, IMHO, is a tad bit saturated - but not as saturated as TGP's - but that's another story - LOL)
A year is ok

I have a lot of capital behind me, and while I would prefer not to have to sink funds into this, I would if needed.
What kind of link list do you plan on making? General with the usual categories? Niche specific? Search function? Listing Pay and/or AVS and/or Free Sites? Category specific recips?
General listing with categories. Will list AVS, paysites with sponsor programs, general freesites, sponsor hosted freesites.
How much are you paying your employee to run it? (and remember, if & when you get popular, it'll take longer & longer to do the things your employee is doing during the infancy of the site)
I already employ a couple of people full time and he is one of them. Since I am looking after the top level stuff and design etc, I figure it will only take him 1-2 hours a day in the early stages. If it gets bigger I can easily employ someone extra if needed.
Banner rotator? Traffic trading script? Blog or daily comments? How will you fill the categories before you "open" the site?
Advertising, banners, traffic trading are easy. My programmer will set up all scripts too... that stuff is easily looked after.
I will fill the categories with my own paysites freesites already done, my past freesites, sponsor hosted freesites, and around 200 or so freesites from friends who have done freesites for years. Is there any other stuff i would need to do to fill the categories ?
Also have I gotten the wrong idea about something, and have I assumed something which is wrong? I welcome criticism on my plan, and never get defensive when it comes to making $, so please be honest.