Building custom components in CS3

Hey gang -

Are there any tutorials or walk-throughs on how to build custom componets in CS3/AS3? Or will I have to get myself a copy of Flex Builder?

I’m specifically looking for information on how to update parameters in the component inspector - right now I have the component inspector populating with my default values, but if I update those values, I don’t see the changes reflected when I trace();

Thanks for any help or insight