Welcome aboard Stan, and welcome to the thrill a minute world of non-revving.
As a first time non-rev traveler my advice is to put in plenty of research, plan meticulously and be ready to improvise.
Have a plan, A, B, C and D ready to go, it will save both your nerves and your time.
Plus as a general rule you’ll want to travel mid-week and try for the first flight of the day. And you’ll definitely want to print out the Non-Rev Prayer and carry with you.
http://nonrev.net/open-discussion/17...vs-prayer.html

You mentioned that your first test flight would be to fly out of MEM. Does Spirit even fly out of MEM, or are you talking about taking another carrier?

There are an excellent group of people here that can help, but your primary source of information is your son and the Spirit Travel Dept. - read that Spirit Pass and Free Travel Policy backwards and forward.