this is my first root/rom just wana make sure i got directions right...
1. ROOT using these instructions
LG Esteem OneClickRoot NOW READY!! | AndroidNerds.net
2. get recovery from here
VM701_recovery.img
but not sure how im supposed to install it...i see the commands from the thread about "we got root!!" but how do iget to terminal to do those commands? also later in the thread the directions seem to change cuz they say to use a flash image or something :S
Before you start, make sure you can actually connect to your phone and talk to it with the command line using ADB (Android Debug Bridge). Everything that involves rooting your phone, installing recovery, and perhaps even installing the ROM later, requires that ADB work with your phone. The reason I mention this is that your confusiong about how to install recovery makes me think you probably haven't done this before and it will be a LOT less confusing once you can talk to your phone with ADB.
The first thing I would suggest is download ADB from Google, install it on your computer, and make sure you can at least get to your Android's "shell" prompt. You do this by making sure your computer has ADB plus the correct drivers to talk to your phone, turning on Settings->Applications->Development->USB debugging on your phone, then invoking "adb shell" on your computer. This should give you a command-line prompt on your phone, which if you are unrooted will mean you have a prompt that looks like a dollar sign ($). You should then be able to type commands like "ls -l" and "exit".
This is the key to rooting, installing recovery, etc. Nearly every command everyone talks about typing involves running commands directly on the phone after placing software there. The recovery image is a file that needs to get placed on your phone, and flash_image is a program that your PHONE runs which take the recovery _image file, unpacks it and writes it over a section of your phone's memory. There are two common ways people put files on their phones; one is to use the ADB program itself "adb push [filename]" the other is to mount the SD card inside the phone on your computer, copy whatever files you want on there, and then replace the card inside your phone where it will show up as the "/sdcard" directory.
Some of the other utilities people have mentioned, like ROM Manager, are Android programs that you can install on your phone to automate the process of going into your phone and manipulating the files we do with ADB. They are convenient, IF they work. The problem is, these applications are often written by casual programmers who have no time to test their application on every possible phone and even those which have already been modified by other similar programs. So the possibility of something going wrong by using one of these is rather high. However, if you know exactly what the program is attempting to do, it's often easier just to connect using ADB and putting the files/programs where you want them to. You'll know exactly how you got your phone into each state, and best of all, how to reverse everything in case something goes wrong. Plus, it's a heck of a lot more fun and rewarding!
So step 1, play with ADB. Try looking at the directories /system (ls -l /system) and /system/xbin, BEFORE you root your phone with ADB shell. Check out how /data/local looks. Copy some of this down, since this WILL get changed once you run the root script.
Step 2, try using the LG Esteem root script. Better yet, examine the run.bat file and try running the commands yourself, one at a time and see what happens.
If any of this is confusing, be sure to cut/paste what you did/what you see on your screen and feel free to come back here with questions!
If you get past Step 2 and everything is super clear, I think flashing recovery will be really easy for you.