Welcome to the game and the forums!
I'll answer your parts issue first: If you haven't contacted
orders@warehouse23.com, then do that. They'll help you out.
As for the rest of your questions:
Your character has two Hands, so you can use up to two Hand Items, or one 2 Hands Item. More on that later, as I want to cover something else first.
As for putting cards in play:
- Normally, you can put one Race, one Class, one Big Item, and any number of small Items (those not listed as Big) in play. Items are the cards which have Gold Piece values listed on them (that includes the phrase "No Value"). You can play Items you can't use, but I'll come back to what that means later. I say normally above because it is the nature of cards to change things, as there are cards which would let you have a second Race, and so on.
- When you can put cards in play is dependent on the card type: Races and Classes can be played at any time during your turn, or as soon as you get them; Items can be put in play any time during your turn, or as soon as you get them, as long as you're not in combat. Most other types of cards can be played when it makes sense: Monster Enhancers can be played on any Monster in a combat; Go Up A Level cards can be played at any time on any player that can accept the level (basically, Level 8 and below, since Level 9 players have to kill a Monster to go up a Level); Curses can be played at any time on any player; anything I didn't cover can be played any time unless the card says otherwise.
Now, back to the issues I'd said I'd come back to. You'll notice that some cards are marked as Headgear, some are marked as Armor, and some are marked as Footgear. Your character has one head (for Headgear), one body (for Armor), and one pair of feet (for Footgear) to go along with your two Hands. You can only
use one each of Headgear, Armor, and Footgear, along with two Hand Items or one 2 Hands Item. All other Items of those types can be put in play, but must be turned sideways. Using game terms, all of your in play Items are
carried, and you can get bonuses or special abilities from, what we call
using, some of those carried Items.
There is no explicit "draw to fill your hand" phase of the game. Typically, you get more cards when you kick down the door and do not find a Monster or a Curse (other cards can just go into your hand and do not have to be played), loot the room (you do not have to play that card, either), defeat, or help to defeat Monsters, in combat, as Charity at the end of someone else's turn, or your first turn after having died.
Now, I know that the above is a lot to absorb. Fortunately a majority of it is in the rules, so a thorough re-read of the rules should enforce all of what I just wrote, and all I just wrote should help make it easier to pick up on what the rules are saying. However, if you have any follow up questions to what I just said, please ask. That's why we're here. :-)