ok ive found there is just TOOOO much info on the net.
modaco site sent me off to install flash recovery. so i automatically presumed this was right. but then i got errors of "downloading 'boot.img'... FAILED (remote: not allow)"
googling that i got info that my phone is not rooted yet.
You don't do anything with your SPL. You should create goldkey, then you need to downgrade your rom. And then you can install the recovery image! After you have recovery then you will be able to load the custom rom's.
The Unlockr was the easiest for me to follow, because you have the videos too. You guys need to follow the guide on page 11. Haha! @ Identity, the newest radio should be loaded but this only happens after you downgraded and you can boot to the recovery screen if you hold Home+Power. And read what I said on page 11 - download the alternative RUU,with the link i gave there too... This is basically just the official worldwide ROM from HTC.
Lol! Can't create Goldkey without that sorry. Because you need to edit the card with the Hex editor. Otherwise you can't downgrade! I have a spare one, but I live in Potch.
Looks like you are concentrating on loading the recovery image the whole time. Forget that till you have a phone with the downgraded international ROM. So what you should do is: Go to the following page.