1 ) On Tumblr is it possible to create a form and / or at the very least program. If I want to write a shell script, or a python script, can I do that? Note that we have domain space from GoDaddy[ to my chagrin =( I had no say in that ]. Perhaps there is a way to use tumblr for most of the front end but be able to do database stuff, and all sorts of other fun stuff?
EDIT: IF there are any better work arounds I absolutely need to know!
Tumblr won't give you any form of database or backend processing beyond what you can get with the usual functionality. However if you've got hosting elsewhere you could certainly create a form that posts to a different domain (i.e. your godaddy site)
<form action="http://yourgodaddydomain/someendpoint">
<!-- form -->
</form>
You could then set the endpoint (python script, php, whatever) to redirect back to your tumblr site.