Hello Mike,
Bulb is probably the simplest of all of your camera settings. You click a button and the shutter opens, click it again and it closes. The exposure won't change, just how much light is on your sensor. The biggest issue is knowing how long to let light in. Here is a great article from the Digital Photography School on the subject:
http://digital-photography-school.co...bulb-mode.html
My suggestion is not to worry too much about the exposure metering when using a bulb setting. Once you have the timing down, the pictures will come out where you want them to come out.
Good luck,
Frank