who da man? that is ME! WOOT! i got it to work just perfect 
here is how, as i know i was not the only one with this problem.
go into the d2data.mpq and look under .dc6 for data\global\ui\frontend\##bw.dc6
## is the class token, and d2data.mpq only has the 5 original classes. look int d2exp.mpq for the other 2.
there should be six or seven of these files, depending on the class. you should be able to figure out the tokens but if not here they are:
am = amazon
ba = barbarian
ne = necromancer
pa = paladin
so = sorceress
dz = druid
not sure what the assassin is, but i have faith you will find out 
now, highlight all the animation files and save it to your mod directory, just save it into c:\program files\Diablo II\(your mod folder here), and click keep structure.
now, i recommend saving the anim files for both the classes that you are using, so you have a reference. now in my case, i was copying the barb to the necros place. go into windows explorer (yes, i assume you are using windows) and find the directory of the 2 classes. you will notice that the necro has one animation more than the barb does. this will be covered in a moment. right now, use the necro folder. rename the files to the barb animations by changing the "ne" at the front of the name to "ba". do this to all the necro animations. there, now he will show up as a barb at the creation screen, but he will freeze when you click on him. how to fix this? you ask?, it's not as hard as it seems. go into the barb folder and copy the file "banu3.dc6" into the necro folder.
this is the core of the apple here:
rename "banu3.dc6" in the necro folder to "nenu3s.dc6". make sure that s appears at the end. Congratulations my friend! you have just taken the necro out of the character creation screen and replaced him with a fully selectable barbarian!

(this is going to be added to the tutorial section right?) 
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check it out, my site is in the works: http://www.geocities.com/baynne2001/difwor.html
[This message has been edited by Baynne (edited 12 March 2002).]