[jet_kit]

Hi Rick,
Can you post some of your efforts up here for us to look at?
I suspect, you camera's meter is picking up a light source (streetlight, moon etc.) and is exposing for that, which will result in everything else being lost in shadow. Or, it's trying to expose for shadows and overexposing the whole thing, although your description of the exposure settings would not indicate that.
Metering is very tricky at night. You don't want to expose for shadows because you want them to be largely lost, not exposed to '18% Grey'. Similarly, your point light sources (and there could be a lot of them) want to be overexposed to a degree.
Use the LCD screen on the back of your camera and check out the histogram of the shot you've just taken and adjust accordingly.
If you're shooting in JPEG play with the White Balance. Have a go at 'Cloudy' to warm up the image, for example.

EDIT 2300 13.06.12 - See my response to your uploaded image in the critique section.