would it be possible to use knoppix to let me build my entire linux system from pure source code? grab the kernel sources compile and place them onto a drive of my choosing and all that good and happy stuff? I know the entire idea is very advanced and difficult. but this would just be a project designed to do one thing. Teach me more about linux and how it works.
Building an entire Knoppix system is certainly possible, but is overkill as the Debian binaries that current Knoppix is based off of is good enough. Many of the remasters and customizations require no compiling and if they do, it is usually only the kernel itself. See the Documentation for a link on how to make your own customized Knoppix without having to recompile everything. I also wrote a HOWTO that I feel is easier than the offical Documentation method http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13867

If you really have your heart set on recompiling everything from source, then you should probably see these links:
Using Debian From Scratch http://people.debian.org/~jgoerzen/dfs/html/
Installing Debian From Scratch http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?.../01/10/1727246
What is Linux From Scratch? http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/lfs/whatislfs.html
I hope this helps.
James