PaulS:
You need to be clearer about what you want to do. There is a huge difference between a string and a String. The string is not a class and does not have a toInt() method.Frankly, you should not be using the String class at all. It has a major problem that is going to, sooner or later, bite you.
Now I'm really lost. My goal is to convert the second string to a value so I can write some algorithms.
0.000,0.000,0.000
This looks like it's converting each ASCII character
String : ASCII
0 : 48
. : 46
0 : 48
0 : 48
0 : 48
Ref: http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/ASCIITable
I know this doesn't solve my conversion problem but I'm practicing difference string conversions.