5.1-R plip0 issue (BSD --> Linux)

[falacy]

Hello all, 

Seems that I am unable to do a few a things with the TCP/IP over parallel that 
I would like to. I have setup my laptop using a linux-linux combo and it 
pings just nicely, so I know that a plip connection will work on the hardware 
once I figure it out. Here are my issues, 

There isn't a  plip0 device node in /dev, but 
device          ppc
device          ppbus   # Parallel port bus (required)
device          lpt             # Printer
device          plip            # TCP/IP over parallel
device          ppi             # Parallel port interface device
are called in my kernel config. This is rather disturbing.
 
This seems to be the real issue. I went through the handbook and used the 4.x 
method to setup the parallel port connection, using the lp0 device node, but 
that simply does not work in 5.1 apperently. I have not had any luck creating 
a plip0 device node to use either, as the HB only states the 4.x method to 
creating device nodes. 

I also understand that use plip (called lp0) with linux under freeBSD 4.x, 
freeBSD needed to have 'ifconfig_lp0 link0' called, but I am not sure if this 
is the case for the plip0 too (in freeBSD 5.1). Nor, in either case, am I 
sure where I would call link0....

My setup in /etc/rc.conf looks like this (and would work in 4.x from what I 
have read), 

interfaces="lo0 xl0 lp0"
ifconfig_xl0="inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xffff0000"
ifconfig_lp0="inet 192.168.1.5 192.168.1.9 netmask 0xffffff00"

Can we find a way to make this system work with 5.1? Quite frankly, I'm at my 
wits end when it comes to this. I like FreeBSD, but if I can't figure this 
out, it would be well worth my while to just go back to slackware, I guess. I 
don't really want to do that however :)

Thanks in advance, 
Rob.