1.) Quit over-thinking it.
2.) "barefoot shoes" is an oxymoron. Barefoot is barefoot. Shoes are shoes, just a matter of degree.
3.) "proper form" - GAH! Nobody knows what proper form is. The best form for you is the one you run with, as long as it doesn't cause injury.
4.) Honestly, I don't think you can "understand the issues and the benefits" without being a runner for some time. You can read all you want but it's "where the rubber meets the road" that it counts. And only running experience can give you that knowledge.
Go to a good running shoe store - not an outlet or a "big box" store. Find one where they can watch you run, for instance, on a treadmill. Tell them the approximate price range you're in and that you're open to various brands/types of shoes. Try on as many as you can (size up 1/2 to a full size from your street shoe) and do a little running in them - treadmill or around the store or whatever. Get the shoes that feel the best. Go to another store if you can't find anything you like.
Start with a program like C25K (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml). Run upright, head up, upper body & arms relaxed, any forward lean should be from the ankles, not the waist. Keep your strides relatively short, with your foot landing under your body, not in front of it. Run at a speed that lets you talk in short sentences. Don't worry about your footstrike. (In fact, recent studies have shown that heel-striking is more efficient than midfoot and there is no increased risk of injury.)
I'm sure there are things I've forgotten to mention. Hopefully you'll hear from others. Good luck! BTW, a friend of mine is a 20-some-year liver transplant survivor and completed the Marine Corps Marathon a few years ago.