479445 Need help touching up a Google Maps mashup site

I have an existing Google Maps mashup site, but am having problems working with the Google Maps API (I'm a graphic designer by trade, programming/development is foreign to me). I need to: • display custom map markers. I've designed the graphical elements, just need them to display properly (not the default red circle markers) • have the map markers cluster at a wide zoom level • have a drop down menu attached to the search function of the site, populated by an existing MySQL database Thanks!